Delay Threatens To Add Mtbe Liability Provision To Highway Bill

Liability & Insurance Week, Feb 17, 2004

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) threatened Feb. 10 to attach its House-passed energy bill to the House-passed highway reauthorization bill, even though the Senate failed to pass the energy bill because of opposition to a provision giving lawsuit protection to manufacturers of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether.

In an attempt to get the bill through the Senate, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) dropped the MTBE provision, but acknowledged the president and House Republican leadership were unhappy with his deletion.

Domenici also cut the costs of the bill by 60 percent in an attempt to get it through the Senate, but it is still stalled.

In last week's Republican policy luncheon, Sen. James M. Imhofe (R-OK), the sponsor of the highway bill, said he would be opposed to DeLay's proposal.

DeLay's proposed action also would complicate the president's threat to veto the Senate-passed highway bill with its price tag of $318 billion unless its costs are reduced in conference closer to the $256 billion the administration wants.

The House still has to act on its highway bill but its bill would cost $375 billion.