Refinery Construction Bill Is Drawing Broad Criticism

By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: October 7, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - A Texas congressman's bill to give the oil industry incentives to increase refinery capacity would gut air-quality protections that currently govern the refining and power industries, Democrats, environmental groups and state and local regulators are charging.

The legislation's sponsor, Representative Joe L. Barton, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that no new domestic refineries had been completed in the past three decades.