Pet Projects Flood Energy Bill Before Crucial Wednesday Session

a group of senior Republican senators gathered recently to promote their vision of an energy policy, they pushed a very junior party member, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to the microphones first to discuss the benefits of a proposed natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Lower 48.

"It will be the largest project of its kind in the history of the country. Huge," said Ms. Murkowski, whose re-election prospects next year could turn on her ability to claim credit for winning federal aid for the proposed $20 billion 3,500-mile pipeline.

Ms. Murkowski is not alone among House and the Senate members who have personal stakes in the energy bill. The measure, which Republican leaders hope to break loose on Wednesday, is packed with pet projects, with total spending estimated by Taxpayers for Common Sense at $60 billion and growing.

"It is just chockablock full of favors to the oil and gas industry," said David Alberswerth, who has been following the sections on public lands for the Wilderness Society.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/15/politics/15ENER.html