QUOTE
Gregg would filibuster if necessary on MTBE
By Norma Love, Associated Press Writer | May 6, 2005
CONCORD, N.H. -- Sen. Judd Gregg said Friday he has the votes to stop Congress from shielding makers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits filed by New Hampshire and other states.
"I believe I'm in the position to successfully kill the issue," Gregg told The Associated Press in an interview.
The Senate Budget Committee chairman said he has commitments from colleagues to block shielding the manufacturers from lawsuits. If necessary, Gregg said he would not hesitate to use a filibuster to kill the MTBE provision that was part of the energy bill passed by the House last month.
The filibuster is a parliamentary tactic in which senators use their right to virtually unlimited debate to block legislation. To stop a filibuster requires 60 votes, more than the 51 votes usually needed to pass bills or approve nominees.
Two years ago, Gregg was one of six Republican senators who refused to cut off debate on that year's energy bill because of a similar MTBE provision. They said it would hinder the cleanup of water fouled by the gasoline additive.
MTBE, or methyl tertiary-butyl ether, is added to gasoline to reduce air pollution. But it has been found to contaminate drinking water supplies, and about half the states face known or potential cleanup problems.
Lawsuits, including New Hampshire's, claim that manufacturers knew the additive could cause pollution problems before it was widely used, and should have withdrawn it.
The House bill would bar claims that MTBE is a defective product, seriously undercutting New Hampshire's lawsuit, according to state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas is a key backer of the MTBE lawsuit shield. He says the government essentially mandated MTBE use when it passed a 1990 law requiring gasoline to contain 2 percent oxygen, so Congress now should protect MTBE manufacturers against product liability lawsuits.
Nearly 200 public water supplies in New Hampshire, 16 percent of the total, have detectable levels of MTBE.
On other issues, Gregg said he has not tried to lobby President Bush -- whom he calls a good friend -- to keep the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard off the base closure list. Gregg said he believes the decision should be objective, not political. He said he has argued the shipyard's case before the secretaries of the Navy and defense and the White House team handling the issue.
"You cannot replace a nuclear facility that does nuclear overhauls," he said. "That's something I don't think the military can afford to lose."
Gregg declined to discuss whether he would support building an oil refinery on the site if the base is closed.
"I don't support talking about anything other than keeping the base open," he said.
Bush has suggested closed military bases as sites for new refineries.
When Aristotle Onassis, with support from then-Gov. Meldrim Thomson, proposed building a refinery on Durham Point, not far from the shipyard, in 1973, a grassroots organization defeated the idea.
Gregg defended his support for drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge as safe and necessary to ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Gregg said he would oppose drilling if it caused serious environmental concerns.
"There are none," he said.
As Budget Committee chairman, Gregg was instrumental in adding Arctic drilling to a budget bill, making it possible for the Senate to approve drilling on a majority vote. Filibusters were used in the past to kill drilling in the refuge.
Gregg said environmental groups have overplayed the potential for damage to the area as a way to raise money.
"It's become a great fund-raiser," he said.
By Norma Love, Associated Press Writer | May 6, 2005
CONCORD, N.H. -- Sen. Judd Gregg said Friday he has the votes to stop Congress from shielding makers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits filed by New Hampshire and other states.
"I believe I'm in the position to successfully kill the issue," Gregg told The Associated Press in an interview.
The Senate Budget Committee chairman said he has commitments from colleagues to block shielding the manufacturers from lawsuits. If necessary, Gregg said he would not hesitate to use a filibuster to kill the MTBE provision that was part of the energy bill passed by the House last month.
The filibuster is a parliamentary tactic in which senators use their right to virtually unlimited debate to block legislation. To stop a filibuster requires 60 votes, more than the 51 votes usually needed to pass bills or approve nominees.
Two years ago, Gregg was one of six Republican senators who refused to cut off debate on that year's energy bill because of a similar MTBE provision. They said it would hinder the cleanup of water fouled by the gasoline additive.
MTBE, or methyl tertiary-butyl ether, is added to gasoline to reduce air pollution. But it has been found to contaminate drinking water supplies, and about half the states face known or potential cleanup problems.
Lawsuits, including New Hampshire's, claim that manufacturers knew the additive could cause pollution problems before it was widely used, and should have withdrawn it.
The House bill would bar claims that MTBE is a defective product, seriously undercutting New Hampshire's lawsuit, according to state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas is a key backer of the MTBE lawsuit shield. He says the government essentially mandated MTBE use when it passed a 1990 law requiring gasoline to contain 2 percent oxygen, so Congress now should protect MTBE manufacturers against product liability lawsuits.
Nearly 200 public water supplies in New Hampshire, 16 percent of the total, have detectable levels of MTBE.
On other issues, Gregg said he has not tried to lobby President Bush -- whom he calls a good friend -- to keep the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard off the base closure list. Gregg said he believes the decision should be objective, not political. He said he has argued the shipyard's case before the secretaries of the Navy and defense and the White House team handling the issue.
"You cannot replace a nuclear facility that does nuclear overhauls," he said. "That's something I don't think the military can afford to lose."
Gregg declined to discuss whether he would support building an oil refinery on the site if the base is closed.
"I don't support talking about anything other than keeping the base open," he said.
Bush has suggested closed military bases as sites for new refineries.
When Aristotle Onassis, with support from then-Gov. Meldrim Thomson, proposed building a refinery on Durham Point, not far from the shipyard, in 1973, a grassroots organization defeated the idea.
Gregg defended his support for drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge as safe and necessary to ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Gregg said he would oppose drilling if it caused serious environmental concerns.
"There are none," he said.
As Budget Committee chairman, Gregg was instrumental in adding Arctic drilling to a budget bill, making it possible for the Senate to approve drilling on a majority vote. Filibusters were used in the past to kill drilling in the refuge.
Gregg said environmental groups have overplayed the potential for damage to the area as a way to raise money.
"It's become a great fund-raiser," he said.