Bush's Energy Policy Stalled

[radfringe]

ARRRRGGGGGGHHHH!
Again with the "Clinton's fault" excuse!!!


Bush Energy Policy Stalled
Partisan Differences and President's Priorities Created Impasse

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 23, 2003; Page A06

As a candidate for president, George W. Bush called for greater investment in the nation's electricity transmission grids and criticized "the Clinton-Gore administration" for failing to encourage improvements.

Four months into his presidency, Bush issued an energy policy that warned of kinks in the transmission grids that "could result in price pressures and reliability problems."

In a speech unveiling the policy, Bush said the electricity grid "needs to be modernized, so we can move product from point A to point B." He said he wanted connections as modern as the interstate highway and phone systems.

And then, nothing happened. When blackouts hit the Northeast and Midwest last week, none of Bush's plans for shoring up the grid had been turned into law.

To some degree, the president's failure to win congressional approval for his ideas is a familiar tale of partisan and regional bickering. Congress has been unable to come to consensus on a broad-based energy bill despite prodding by Bush and widespread agreement that the country should do more to reduce its reliance on foreign oil.

But lawmakers and energy analysts said the impasse also reflects Bush's penchant for leaving legislative details to others, his focus on foreign policy after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and -- perhaps most of all -- his insistence on pursuing sweeping energy legislation instead of more limited initiatives to fix the grid.

[Democat]

1. They should have called the article "In defense of our great president"

Why bullshit.

[Rose Siding]

3. Yeah, real "partisan" that the Dems

wouldn't roll over for drilling in Alaska. Can the reporter READ? It isn't hard to learn about that deal killer.

[screembloodymurder]

2. It was Bush and the GOP that vetoed the grid fix bill

Who controls congress anyway? The WP is a rag.

[robbedvoter]

4. In all fairness, NYT had a similar piece of malarkey (more offensive

since NY endured the results of Bushco's brilliant policy). Check MWO for links, excellent letters to it.

[salin]

5. Right. Its failure had nothing to do with its dubious origins

(the top secret energy panel meetings with Cheney); its push for further deregulation (which would more likely result in worse conditions as opposed to what this toady writer wrote); its malignant drill til we drop and make the tax payers underwrite MORE of the drilling, while we invest next to nothing in r&d in renewables.

This is Orwellian tripe. Letters to the editor need to respond to these kinds of articles.