The US House of Representatives approved an 8 billion US dollar energy bill on Thursday to boost domestic production of oil and gas.

The largely Republican proposed bill, intending to diversify energy production and reduce reliance on oil imports, was passed by a vote of 249-183, said House Republican leaders.

The House bill gives incentives to the development of renewable energy. But the 8.1 billion dollars in tax breaks over 10 years will mostly go to promoting the coal, nuclear, oil and natural gas industries.

The bill shields manufacturers of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, a fuel additive and rival to ethanol, which is distilled from corn, from some lawsuits. A Democratic amendment to drop MTBE protection from the bill was narrowly defeated with a vote of 219-213.

MTBE pollutes the country's drinking water and is believed to cause cancers. Potential clean-up cost can reach 29 billion dollars, a figure disputed by the MTBE makers.

The bill gives refiners and oil companies 2 billion dollars over eight years for phasing out MTBE production. The bill also boosts the output of ethanol.

It also OKs oil drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. A vote of 231-200on late Wednesday rejected an attempt to strip the related provisions from the bill.

President George W. Bush was reported to be "very pleased" withthe Thursday vote.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi however described the overall bill as "anti-consumer, anti-taxpayer and anti-environment."

Democrats criticized the bill as a giveaway to traditional energy industries.

The bill could not help ease US dependence on oil imports and failed to address high gasoline and other energy prices, said Democrats.

The House bill also includes provisions that extend annual US daylight saving time by two months to save 100,000 barrels of oil a day.

The Senate plans to complete the drafting work of its version of energy bill next month.

The issues of MTBE and oil drilling in Alaska are expected to cause troubles in the Senate as before.

Source: Xinhua