WASHINGTON (November 14, 2003) -- Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) announced this afternoon a "deal" to complete negotiations on energy legislation in conference committee. They plan to release the text of the bill tomorrow, and give Congressional Democrats just 48 hours for review before voting on the bill next week.

Below is a statement by Karen Wayland, NRDC's acting legislative director. For details or for additional comment, she is available at 202-513-6241.

"Senators Pete Domenici and Billy Tauzin are following the Bush Administration's playbook.

"As with Vice President Cheney's secret Energy Task Force, Republicans crafted this pro-polluter bill behind closed doors.

"And like the White House PR machine, which has perfected the practice of releasing bad environmental news on Fridays, Domenici and Tauzin are withholding the dirty details of their sham energy bill until late in the week in an attempt to minimize media attention and public scrutiny."

"No matter how hard they try, though, the Bush administration and its Congressional cronies can't hide the truth about this energy legislation. Rather than put America on the path to energy security, the bill rewards polluting energy companies with billions in subsidies while sticking taxpayers with the bill."

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 550,000 members nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.