Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa commended the steadfast votes of key Senators who banded together last month to prevent passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2003, a bill which richly rewards the oil industry but creates few meaningful jobs for working families across the United States.

“The American family wants legislation which puts money in their pockets, puts food on the table and protects the environment,” Hoffa said. “This energy bill does very little of either.”

The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee hailed the Energy Policy Act of 2003 because it would create nearly one million new jobs. However, the committee passed up an opportunity to create more than twice that number of new jobs by opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). A recent National Defense Council Foundation study found that ANWR would create over one million new jobs.

Hoffa praised the Senators on the Senate Energy Committee, including Sen. Chafee (R-RI), Collins (R-ME), Gregg (R-NH), McCain (R-AZ), Snowe (R-ME) and Sununu (R-NH) for their courageous votes against the bill. He urged the Republican leadership to draft new legislation that creates jobs and includes environmentally sensitive development of our nation’s energy resources — specifically ANWR.

“Since he took office, President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress have made more than three million jobs disappear from our nation’s economy,” Hoffa noted. “With Senator Domenici’s leadership we could have put two thirds of those Americans back to work....The Teamsters will support a final energy bill which provides full potential for livable wages, strong benefits, and security for working families.”