"Energy" behind "energy" tax bill

Houston Chronicle:

The House tonight approved $16 billion in new taxes on oil companies as part of an energy package designed to promote conservation and use of renewable energy sources.

Swatting away objections from a cadre of energy state Democrats, the House voted 241 to 172 in favor of a 786-page energy bill and 221-189 for the companion tax package targeting the oil and gas industry.

With these votes, "the House propelled America's energy policy into the future,'' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif..

But the White House has threatened to veto the bill in its present form, and the measure still has to be reconciled with a Senate energy bill passed earlier this summer.

House Republicans complained the package does nothing to encourage production of domestic oil and gas natural resources or to spur use of coal and nuclear power.

"It's kind of the 'where's-the-energy' energy bill," said Rep. Joe Barton of Ennis, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

House negotiators will meet as early as September in a conference committee with their colleagues in the Senate.

Titled the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act, the energy bill — the work of 10 different committees — aims to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil through a series of conservation measures.

Those provisions include new efficiency standards for home appliances; more energy efficient lighting; and incentives to encourage installation of gas pumps that dispense a fuel blend containing 85 percent ethanol for "flexible fuel" vehicles that run on that mixture.

The House added a provision to the bill today to require investor-owned utility companies by 2020 to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

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The bill seems to be a stew made up of liberal fantasies when it comes to energy. It reflects liberal hatred for those who actually produce energy now and does not really address the opposition among liberals for the programs they are pushing like wind. You can bet, they are not going to clear the way for a wind project on Cape Cod in Markey's home state anymore than they would permit offshore drilling on the Cape. One of the reasons there is a shortage of domestic production is because people like Markey have voted to restrict it and not permit it in wilderness ares and off shore.

In the NY Times Markey is quoted as saying “It’s a big, big deal. There has been no legislation like this for a generation.” That is because energy kooks like him have been locked in the attic where they belong. The people behind this bill are anti energy, and that should be a big, big deal.

If the bill survives negotiations with the Senate, I believe the President will veto it. The disincentive of the taxes alone should be enough to make it veto bait.