ENERGY APPROACH FLAWED.

Byline: HENRY WAXMAN

PRESIDENT George W. Bush's first year in office will always be remembered for the tragic events of Sept. 11 and the ensuing military action in Central Asia. But while I join most Americans in strong support of the war against terrorism, I am deeply troubled by the conservative domestic agenda pursued by the Bush administration over the past year.

These policies have favored large corporations and special interests while undermining our nation's economy, public health and the environment.

One example of these flawed domestic policies is Bush's energy policy.

The most recent trouble in the Middle East underscores the need for an effective national energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Yet Bush's policy will lead to increased demand and consumption of fossil fuels.

The policy was drafted behind closed doors by Vice President Cheney with input from energy executives like Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. As passed by the House, it includes $34 billion dollars in tax breaks and subsidies for energy companies.

The cornerstone of the policy is increased production of oil, gas, and nuclear energy. Funding for conservation and renewable energy programs - a key to California's mostly successful efforts to avoid prolonged blackouts last summer - would be tied to unpopular exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other environmentally sensitive lands.

Similarly, Bush's environmental agenda is deeply flawed. During his first months in office, the Bush administration attempted to overturn years of scientific study that called for reducing the levels of arsenic - a known carcinogen - in drinking water.

Bush also reversed his campaign pledge to seek reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement signed by the Clinton administration to address global warming.

In other attacks on the environment, the Bush administration has sought to weaken protections for 58 million acres of national forest land, opposed tougher fuel economy standards for motor vehicles, and, just recently, relaxed federal rules to protect our nation's wetlands.

There are other areas where Bush's policies should receive a low mark. His ill-conceived tax cut has drained the government of the funds needed to provide prescription drug coverage to seniors.

Bush has also attacked a woman's right to choose by reinstating a ``gag rule'' that prohibits overseas health care facilities from discussing reproductive options that include abortion if they receive any U.S. funding.

Furthermore, the president's decision to limit federal funds for stem cell research has severely impaired researchers' abilities to find causes and cures for diseases from juvenile diabetes to Alzheimer's.

I will fully support the president's policies to fight terrorism. But I will strongly oppose Bush's domestic agenda when those policies are opposed by most Americans and would do real harm for years to come.