Scaled-back energy bill losing legs: Former supporters are now dubious

[salin]

Scaled-back energy bill losing legs

Former supporters are now dubious

Wednesday February 18, 2004


By Bruce Alpert
Washington bureau

WASHINGTON -- A scaled-back energy bill has not only failed to win over some key opponents, but also has some of the original legislation's most ardent supporters wavering.

That is bad news for Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who removed a contentious provision and cut billions of dollars in costs from the original bill in an effort to build support. The Senate is expected to take up the reworked bill next week.

Groups advocating more deficit reduction and improved environmental enforcement remain opposed to the bill.

But of even more concern is that previous supporters, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, are expressing concerns about some of the changes. Landrieu, the only Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee to back the original bill, said she might not vote for the new legislation because it has been stripped of $1.1 billion in guaranteed money for coastal impact assistance in Louisiana.

more: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1077089170133780.xml

Meanwhile... in the ongoing effort to assist the President to be able to continue his record breaking fundraising... the effort to demonstrate the ability for the pres to financially reward his big donors in the energy industries marches on.... In the conservative mouthpiece the Washington Times... the following editorial appears:

Wanted: an energy bill

The nation's chronic energy crises are being abetted by the chronic failure of Congress to do anything about it. Political embarrassment will be the least of the consequences of a Republican-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate again failing to send a bill that makes substantive improvements to energy production to the Republican president.
Last week, Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici introduced a scaled-down version of the energy bill that was filibustered by the Senate last fall. Its estimated cost of $14 billion is about half of last year's measure, but Mr. Domenici claims that the bill would still create about 800,000 jobs. A variety of items were stripped, including liability protections for producers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), $1.1 billion in coastal restoration for Louisiana and $500 million for rural electricity development done by Alaska's Denali Commission. The bill still includes several needed reforms, such as mandatory reliability standards for electrical grids, reauthorization of the Price-Anderson nuclear plant insurance and repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), but is also still freighted with several unfortunate provisions, including extensive ethanol subsidies.

more: http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040217-084607-5718r.htm

[joeybee12]

1. It's nothing but pork!!!!!!!!!!!!

Probably the worst piece of legislation to come out of Congress in the last 4 years, and that's saying something!

[Art_from_Ark]

5. I would say second-worst

The worst piece by far is the Orwellian "Patriot" Act

[Fla_Dem]

2. Why does

" $1.1 billion in coastal restoration for Louisiana " sound like something that should have never been in an energy bill in the first place. I would like to see some more information on this one.

[Bridget Burke]

6. Here's some information....

From the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources:

www.dnr.state.la.us/SEC/EXECDIV/PUBINFO/NEWSR/coastalimpact.ssi

To be brief, six states with offshore drilling were to receive funds to study & ameliorate possible environmental effects of the oil & gas industry on the coastline.

Florida is one of those states.

[sendero]

3. Could this be a precedent?

This bill was a travesty from day one. Full of little bits of pork for lots of legislators with the quid pro quo of huge pork for the players. And nothing for America as a whole.

This seems like the first major piece of legislation that the Dems have scuttled. May it not be the last!

[tibbiit]

4. this is another area the dems

need to hammer the repuke assholes.
'
didnt we hear that bush is the energy president?
if anyone can get results about energy that bush-chenney can?
And with an all Repuke Congress... a breeze!
What happened bush=chenney? The mean evil Democrats must have voodooed it or something hehe.
tib

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. The support was only as viable as the pork it guaranteed

Hopefully we will see the last of this this year and we will see a much more sound energy policy in the future.