May 18, 2005
(Amended May 31, 2005 - See Note Below)

To Chairman Domenici and Ranking Member Bingaman:

The Alliance for the Responsible Use of Chlorine Chemistry (ARCC) is a coalition of major U.S. labor unions and companies concerned about jobs and investments in the vital U.S. chlorine chemistry industries. We commend you and your colleagues for recognizing that an energy crisis is harming American consumers, manufacturers and workers.

We support key bipartisan provisions of S. 726, the Natural Gas Price Reduction Act of 2005, introduced by Senators Lamar Alexander and Tim Johnson, to promote environmentally sound exploration, fuel diversity, conservation, efficiency and infrastructure improvements. We would ask that the Committee incorporate the tenets of this bill into the Senate's Energy Bill.

As you are aware, the extremely high price and supply-demand imbalance of natural gas are major problems facing our energy-intensive industrial sector. U.S. natural gas prices for industry are the highest in the world. We are losing jobs, investments, and research & development in energy-intensive industries ranging from chemical production to agribusiness. Our manufacturing sector has lost nearly 3 million jobs and high natural gas costs are a significant factor.

Since the 1980s, natural gas has become the fuel of choice for America to meet environmental goals as energy demand rises. U.S. natural gas demand is up 40 percent since 1986, and now accounts for 25 percent of U.S. energy use. By 2025, natural gas demand is projected to grow by another 40 percent. But U.S. production has grown only one percent a year since 1998. Meanwhile, the price of natural gas has tripled. Congress must act or there will be no relief from extremely high natural gas prices.

America needs to face hard energy facts: First, we must increase our natural gas supply through expanded domestic activity. Second, conservation cannot serve as a complete solution to the crisis. While further gains can and must be made, conservation cannot free up adequate supplies now or in the future. We need new, practical solutions that will help now.

We are prepared to assist your efforts to support U.S. companies and workers by modernizing our natural gas policies. We urge the Senate to pass a bill.

Sincerely,

John J. Barry President Emeritus International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Co-Chair, ARCC		C.T. "Kip" Howlett, Jr. Executive Director Chlorine Chemistry Council Co-Chair, ARCC

CC: Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee


NOTE: The letter is amended on May 31, 2005, as follows:
The IBEW opposes the current energy bill due to the inclusion of Public Utilities Holding Company Act (PUHCA) repeal language. American Labor opposes repeal of the PUHCA. The ARCC letter supports bipartisan efforts to increase the U.S. supply of natural gas, and should not be read or used to imply that the Alliance supports PUHCA repeal.