FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Back in this country, with power back on, with most people hit by last week's massive blackout, the blame game has begun. Energy topics are suddenly topic number one among policymakers. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from Crawford, Texas with a look. Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: Well, Fred, really to get a good sense of how this debate is going to play out in congress when they return from recess, all you had to dos with listen to the political talk shows this morning. One of the more controversial elements is over a proposal to drill for oil in the arctic national wildlife refuge. It's threatening to doom the energy bill altogether. Democrats arguing, however, that if the Bush Administration were simply to take this out it would clear the way to move other issues forward including the possibility of updating the power grid.</s>SPENCER ABARHAM, SECRETARY OF ENERGY: I think that would be a huge mistake because we have a lot of problems in the energy sectors and I don't think legislation will pass if you pull it out one piece at a time. Moreover, it will leave us vulnerable to other challenges and crises.</s>REP. EDWARD MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: This issue has been held hostage to the Republican agenda of trying to drill in the most pristine wilderness, environmentally sensitive areas of the country. We could have broken this issue off three years ago, five years ago. But they refused to allow it to move as a separate piece of legislation.</s>MALVEAUX: And Fred, of course another controversial issue is just who is going to be responsible for enforcing and upgrading this power grid system and who is going to be in charge of regulating that -- Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux from Crawford. Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Partisan Debate Begins Over Energy Legislation