News Coverage
Don't expect relief in energy bill
Published April 21, 2005
Before the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive energy bill on Thursday, President Bush dreamily mused, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow."
But even if members of the Senate clicked their heels in unison and approved the House energy package immediately and the president signed it moments later, the law would offer absolutely no relief for motorists now paying sky-high prices at the pump.
In fact, anyone who believes the proposed energy bill will serve the nation's long-term interests is already living in a world of make-believe.
The bulk of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was crafted in secret four years ago by Vice President Dick Cheney with a task force composed mostly of executives and lobbyists from the oil and gas industry.
Not surprisingly, the bill virtually assures those corporations will live happily ever after by granting them about $8.1 billion over the next decade in tax breaks, unnecessary subsidies, and product liability protections for the makers of MTBE, a gasoline additive that pollutes drinking water. Another provision in the bill would enable Congress to bypass its normal spending procedures and provide $2 billion over 10 years to research the possibility of drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.
The House also approved a misguided proposal to allow oil exploration in the Alaskan wilderness. Despite assurances from proponents, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could wreak irreparable ecological damage while doing precious little to boost domestic oil supplies. The bill also contains an unwelcome gift from the pollution fairy that would exempt "downwind" states from improving air quality until their "upwind" neighbors took steps to reduce harmful emissions.
Overall, the current energy bill is scarier than any fable the Brothers Grimm ever conjured. It fails to aggressively promote conservation or the development of alternative fuel sources. And, at a time when gasoline prices continue to spin out of control, the bill doesn't call for raising fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks.
Taking even those modest steps would give America a chance to weaken the grip of foreign oil producers. It's too bad the White House and those pushing this fanciful bill in Congress believe that wishing alone will make it so.
