BRC 28: Congress Coming Back to the Energy Bill

We'll, we're exactly halfway there time-wise, and just over halfway on the number of posts. I hope you're enjoying the variety of subject and views my guests have presented. My second wind kicked in a while back, so onward to the next twelve hours! We've got a few more guest posts, but once we get into the wee hours, I'll be handling it on my own...

Voice of America News reports that reconciliation of the House and Senate Energy Bills begins this week. The article quotes Navin Nayak from US PIRG, and he's not particularly kind to either chamber's version:

"I think that the best way to qualify the 2 energy bills that have passed is to call the House (of Representatives) bill a disaster," he says. "Not only would it do nothing positive, but it would significantly weaken existing public health and environmental protections. It would give away billions of dollars to the oil and gas industry, while ignoring renewables and energy efficiency."

Mr. Nayak calls the Senate bill "more of a disappointment," adding, " While they do take positive steps forward on renewable energy and energy efficiency, they fail to do anything meaningful on global warming. They fail to do anything meaningful on oil dependence and production, and they also provide billions of dollars in subsidies to the oil and gas industry.

So will anyone be happy with the result? Or do you suppose that the much more belligerant House Republicans will beat their colleagues from the Senate into submission? I wish I could think of a rosier scenario, but I don't know if it's possible. One thing I can guarantee: the MTBE folks will get their protection from liability...

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