[EnviroEngr]

Comprehensive Energy Bill Stalls
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')ollowing a rejection of Representative Joe Barton's (R-TX) attempts to attach comprehensive energy legislation (H.R. 6) to a corporate tax bill, energy legislation in the 108th Congress appears to be dead.
The legislation, passed by both houses of Congress late last year, is tied up in negotiations over MTBE legal liability issues. MTBE, a gasoline additive designed to reduce automobile emissions, is linked to groundwater contamination in several states. Threatened with liability lawsuits, House leaders representing MTBE-producing states have sought to add language to the energy bill to provide liability protections to the industry. This language has brought a filibuster threat from the Senate and tied up the energy bill for the bulk of 2004. Despite attempts by Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) to broker a compromise, efforts to solve the roadblock have been unsuccessful to date.
The comprehensive energy legislation, a priority of the White House and Congress, seeks to promote domestic energy production and contains numerous provisions supported by the science community, including a major boost in funding for the Department of Energy Office of Science. Unless a last minute compromise is forged, it appears the bill will not be sent to the president's desk this year, and could be subject to a major rewrite pending the outcome of November's elections.

[TheSupplyGuy]

So, should we call up our legislators about it? Thanks for the info. I may just do that.

[NeoPeasant]

Was this the one McCain called the "no lobbyist left behind" bill?

[Peepers]

I apologize if this has been posted already, elsewhere on this forum. Still learning my way around here. KJP

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BUSHGREENWATCH
Tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental Misdeeds
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January 18, 2005

ANOTHER BATTLE LOOMS OVER BUSH-GOP ENERGY BILL

When Congress begins its new session this week, the Republican leadership is expected to quickly re-introduce essentially the same energy bill it passed in 2003 and 2004. And on January 24, Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) will convene a hearing of his Energy and Natural Resources Committee to focus on the problem of natural gas (limited supply, high price).

As always, the two chambers will have to reconcile their versions of the bill, which is likely to take several months.
The two previous bills were both defeated in the Senate. The House bill, H.R. 6, will again be hotly opposed by environmental and energy conservation groups.

"The energy bill is a classic example of a legislative stocking stuffer, where Congress slipped in billions of dollars in
targeted subsidies for the coal, nuclear, oil, and gas industries," U.S.PIRG energy analyst Navin Nyak told
BushGreenwatch.

"Investing in clean energy policies would create thousands of new jobs, save consumers and businesses billions of dollars, and significantly reduce air pollution from power plants," added Nyak. "Instead of embracing this win-win-win situation, the Bush administration and Congress crafted an energy bill that weakens environmental protections, fails to protects consumers and throws more than $35 billion taxpayers dollars at polluting industries."

Besides the fact that the bill provides huge subsidies to the fossil fuel (greenhouse gas) industries closely tied to the Bush administration, while doing almost nothing for alternative energy or energy conservation, environmental experts oppose a laundry list of other harmful provisions likely to be carried over from last year. Among other things, the bill would:

-Exempt all oil and gas construction activities -- including roads, drill pads, pipeline corridors and refineries -- from
having to obtain a permit controlling polluted stormwater runoff caused by construction activities, as is currently required under the Clean Water Act.

-Dramatically increase air pollution and global warming with its huge new incentives for burning coal, oil and gas.

-Threaten drinking water sources by exempting from Safe Drinking Water Act regulation the underground injection of chemicals during oil and gas development.

-Allow more smog pollution for longer than the current Clean Air Act authorizes.

-Establish an "Office of Federal Project Coordination" within the White House to expedite the permitting and completion of energy projects on federal lands and override environmental safeguards.

-Continue to promote development of all Outer Continental Shelf lands -- including sensitive moratoria protected lands and, potentially, national marine sanctuaries -- through two poorly defined studies.

-Repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act, the main law protecting consumers from market manipulation, fraud, and abuse in the electricity sector, even while evidence of corrupt industry behavior is front page news and ratepayers are owed billions to compensate for the industry's illegal activities.

-Mandate the siting of a high voltage electricity transmission line through the Cleveland National Forest in southern
California and other public lands, overriding a decision by the State of California rejecting such siting.


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[BabyPeanut]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6888598/
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')our years ago, manufacturers led the U.S. economy into recession when a spike in natural gas prices raised their costs to unmanageable levels. Those prices, however, "pale in comparison to where natural gas prices are now," says Mike Baroody, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

[frankthetank]

http://adn.com/news/alaska/story/6176500p-6052750c.html

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')nstead, Rep. Joe Barton, the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Ralph Hall, the chairman of the energy subcommittee, both Texas Republicans, said a bill to allow oil leasing of the coastal plain of the refuge would have to stand on its own. The two congressmen, who said they deeply support the open-ANWR movement, said they feared including ANWR in the energy bill risked sinking both when they got to the Senate.

[BabyPeanut]

Older article:

http://peakoil.com/fortopic3913.html

[savethehumans]

The energy bill LOST last year in Congress because the open-ANWR rider was in there. So they're unlikely to put it in this year's energy bill, in the (unfortunately realistic) hopes that with it MIA, the bill will PASS.

After all, they can sneak ANWR in anywhere, when it's least expected....

All this fuss over maybe a few weeks' worth of oil--only in the US--starting 10 years from Drill Date #1!

And the winner of the Most Dangerously Insane Government is....

[earthman]

Huge (billions) in tax cuts to oil companies to encourage higher production!?!

As the price of oil goes up, does not the profit of oil companies go up?

And even admitting the bill will do nothing to help high gas prices (as high as $3.41/gallon in LA!).

This was the lead story on NBC news tonight.

Is the Bush administration on the same planet?

George

[Clouseau2]

Actually the energy bill is so heinous even the <b>Bush administration</b> is saying it's ridiculous (Bush was saying exactly what you are saying). The executive branch doesn't write the laws, Congress does.

Someone else I know said that just means that all the pork is going to the buddies of Congress, instead of the Bush administration, and that's why Bush is upset.

[MicroHydro]

This is a government of big oil, by big oil and for big oil.

[earthman]

The energy bill passed the House today and if it passes the Senate does this mean that Bush will veto it, if he considers it heinous?

I watched the debate over the bill yesterday on c-span and it appears that the support for this bill is largely along party lines. Is Bush going to veto a Republican pushed bill?

[twofiftyfive]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('earthman', 'T')he energy bill passed the House today and if it passes the Senate does this mean that Bush will veto it, if he considers it heinous?

[gego]

When you have government staffed by the puppets of the privileged class, they all take every opportunity to benefit themselves even more. Of course it does not hurt their cause that the majority live in ignorance of the system, or that the laws are made so complex so as to obscure their real purpose.

Just remember the purpose of slavery; it is to direct the fruits of the efforts of the majority into the pockets of the masters.

[Raxozanne]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gego', '
')Just remember the purpose of slavery; it is to direct the fruits of the efforts of the majority into the pockets of the masters.

[Sys1]

Raxozanne : Same in France. Well, we are in a finacial communism system.

[eastbay]

The only way to mitigate the scope and breadth of the coming disaster is to quickly impose far, far higher taxes on fuel and to impose by any means necessary an immediate increase in average fuel economy.

There has been no mention of either in this bill. It's a total scam.

EastBay

[Triffin]

impose by any means necessary an immediate increase in average fuel economy.

That's what should happen .. except a bill to raise
averege fuel economy to 33 mpg was defeated this week ..

Makes you wonder if anyone is steering the ship

Triff ..

[thegrq]

I thought Bush prepared this energy bill and actually does support it...at least that's what I have understood from what I've read. He's been urging congress to pass it for a while now...no?

[Pfish]

That was the long awaited energy bill? That's it? Brilliant.....simply brilliant....Giving tax breaks to companies who are already making in excess of 20 billion a year......Brilliant.....