Crafting a new energy bill

Nancy Pelosi wanted to vote on the new energy package by July 4th - a date which environmentalists are trying to label "Energy Independence Day." However, she will have to settle by announcing the outlines of a House plan which is significantly more conservative that the Senate's own bill. The Senate voted to increase fuel economy standards, deciding that cars and SUVs will need to average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The current standard is 25 mpg. However, the Senate also dropped proposals which would have required 15% of our electricity come from renewable sources. More surprisingly, they dropped proposals to create new subsidies for biofuels projects (although the ethanol industry already gets quite a bit). The money would have come from tough taxes on the oil and gas industry. The House bill is more conservative, especially concerning emissions fuel standards. This is partially due to the fact that Pelosi faces a tough opponent in Energy chairman Dingell of Michigan, who has close ties with the auto industry.(1)(2)





1. Information from an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle written by entitled, "How green is Congress?"

2. Information also from an article in the Des Moines Register entitled, "Energy bill chugs along, losing steam."