mr. chairman , we have a bad bill .  it is represented as being something which is going to save money and increase energy supplies .  the energy information agency says neither of these cases is true .  it is not going to reduce energy prices , but rather will increase the cost of gasoline .  let us look at what our country needs .  it needs congress to pass a real energy bill , not a flawed bill that will hurt the environment , hurt consumers , and cost taxpayers a bundle of money .  democrats have been trying to work with our republican colleagues to get balanced , sensible legislation , starting with a clean slate in a bipartisan fashion .  we have been denied that opportunity .  the republican leadership chose , instead , to push an outdated energy bill which had its origins in the secret cheney energy task force and was negotiated in secret conference meetings which excluded the democrats .  the administration 's own energy information administration analyzed the old bill saying changes to production , consumption , imports , and prices are negligible .  it even found , as i noted , that gasoline prices under the bill would increase more than if the bill were not enacted .  while the bill will little help our energy independence , it is far from benign .  despite our efforts to overturn the antienvironmental provisions of the bill , it weakens laws such as the safe drinking water act and the leaking underground storage tank program that protect the environment and public health .  the bill also changes hydroelectric power policies by undercutting safeguards for dam relicensing .  it gives power producers more and better rights than states , tribes , and other public entities .  it jeopardizes not only fish , but the overall health of our river systems and the recreational activities that they sustain ; and it confers , unfairly , rights on people , while not taking the same care of the concern of the citizenry generally .  the bill eliminates requirements for public participation and deference to the states in decisions about the siting of electric transmission lines and natural gas facilities .  as far as consumers are concerned , it is hard to imagine a better case for increasing consumer protections than the debacle which took place in the west coast electricity markets in 2000 and 2001 .  the federal energy regulatory commission has determined widespread fraud existed , and there are tapes to prove it ; yet this bill gives only cosmetic reforms in law and , in point of fact , repeals the public utility holding company act of 1935 , which protects consumers and investors .  and it does nothing to assure refunds of unjust and unreasonable overcharges .  while blackouts cost the consumers $ 80 billion , this bill holds a sensible reliability provision hostage to its more controversial provision and caps the necessary expenditure to set the job right .  taxpayers will also be hit hard by this bill .  we do not know the total cost , but last time it cost over $ 30 billion , four times the amount requested by the administration .  this is a bad bill .  i urge my colleagues to reject it .  