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by Stewart Truelsen

Maybe this winter’s energy bills will provide the stimulus necessary for passage of energy legislation. Last year, western wildfires helped push the president’s healthy forests legislation over the top. Now, heating and fueling costs are keeping public attention on energy policy.

If consumers have anything to say about it, Congress will go ahead and pass energy legislation as soon as possible. Cold weather and higher wholesale prices for natural gas are pushing up heating bills by 20 to 50 percent or more around the country.

Certainly President Bush hasn’t forgotten the energy bill, or the fact that reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign sources of energy was a promise he made when he entered office. He reiterated the need for it in his State of the Union message.

"Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run – so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy," the president said.

Farmers haven’t forgotten the energy bill either. At the American Farm Bureau annual meeting, delegates reaffirmed their policy supporting renewable energy sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, wind energy and biomass. The 425 delegates unanimously approved a proclamation urging Congress to immediately pass an energy bill with a renewable fuels standard.

At the group’s general session, Interior Secretary Gale Norton reminded farmers of what happened to them last year. "Farmers are paying higher prices for fertilizer made with natural gas. Increased natural gas prices make it more expensive to run irrigation pumps, greenhouses and ironically, even to produce ethanol," Norton said.

Norton has since announced new incentives to boost domestic natural gas production. These new incentives offer developers royalty relief to tap into pockets of natural gas deep under shallow waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Farm Bureau applauded the move.

Since the energy bill died in the Senate by a couple measly votes last December, the energy outlook has progressively worsened. Crude oil stocks in the United States are at their lowest level in 28 years. The price per barrel has been jumping around in the mid-$30 range, well above OPEC’s $25 target, and there are reports of world oil reserves being overstated.

According to the Oil Price Information Service Roundtable, this year will bring "volatility and uncertainty" to energy markets. One analyst said $50 per barrel crude oil is a possibility by summer. The havoc that would cause to the farm economy and economy in general is too painful to consider.

American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman called on Farm Bureau members to "knock on, or if necessary, knock down" a few Senate doors until an energy bill receives the votes it needs for passage. Given some of the predictions, they may not have to knock hard at all. A light tap ought to do.