But Chase Huntley, energy policy advisor for The Wilderness Society said oil shale development is a "cruel fiction on the American people, promising a false solution to high gasoline prices that instead would hand over potentially tens of thousands of acres of federal lands to oil shale speculators.

"This bill falsely promises that oil shale will lower gasoline prices, when in fact the industry is years if not decades away from proving the economic viability, technical feasibility, and environmental safety of the technologies needed to squeeze oil from rock," Huntley said in a statement.

Huntley said the technology to develop oil shale is not ready and its environmental impacts — particularly how much water it needs to be developed — are not understood.

"Pushing the BLM to finalize rules governing commercial leasing and production of oil shale now is irresponsible," Huntley said.

The Senate bill also includes incentives for plug-in cars or vehicles that would run on batteries and use less gas, something Hatch has been advocating as a way to diversify transportation fuels.

"Some argue we must promote solar, wind, and geothermal as an answer to high gas prices," Hatch said. "Well, obviously, cars and trucks don't run on electricity. But what if we changed all that? Why not use plug-ins to apply hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear to our transportation sector?."

Hatch said the electric grid is a domestic resource and much cheaper and cleaner than gas.

Meanwhile, the Republicans from the House Western Caucus introduced the Americans for American Energy Act, which also removes the moratorium from the Interior Department.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, introduced the bill standing between two giant "Declaration of Energy Independence" posters playing off the upcoming July Fourth holiday, which caucus members signed.

"Congress should end the tyrannical rule over our nation by hostile foreign nations by encouraging more production of American energy from all of America's bountiful resources," according to the "declaration."

The House bill is more extensive than the Senate one and includes opening up oil drilling in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge. The Senate bill purposely left that proposal out, Alexander said, because some Democrats have problems with it.

But Bishop is glad to see ANWR in the House bill.

"You can't piddle around," Bishop said. "You either do everything or you don't do everything."

---

E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com