Excellent summary of the Energy bill

[Viking12]

Some of the central issues and differences bewtween the House and Senate versions:

MTBE: In high doses, the U.S. EPA lists this gasoline additive as a potential human carcinogen, but it proved fatal to the energy bill in the last (108th) Congress. The House bill once again includes language that would protect MTBE producers from product liability lawsuits. The Senate bill contains no such language. Barton will have to solve the MTBE puzzle in order to get a conference report. He is working on a plan to establish an industry-funded cleanup trust fund. But will he be able to find a compromise that both industry and Senators facing billions of dollars of groundwater cleanup in their states can live with?

-snip-

Renewable Portfolio Standard: In a close vote, the Senate adopted an amendment on the floor that would require 10% of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. The House has no similar language, and heretofore Barton has opposed such efforts. Late last week rumors were circulating that he might go along with it if it were a "clean" energy portfolio standard that would encompass new nuclear power and advanced coal plants (as if those two energy sources weren't getting enough support in the rest of the "uncontroversial" parts of the bill). Can moderate Republicans and Democrats in the Senate stomach that change? Some probably can; others probably can't. You can be sure vote counters on both sides of the issue will be looking at the resolution to this closely. Will RPS be the new MTBE?

Global Warming: Who would have guessed that climate change would have generated the most energy on this energy bill? Over in the Senate, three amendments concerning climate change were offered, another was proposed. Eventually, incentives for climate-change-combating technology sponsored by Sen. Hagel (R-NE) and a Sense of the Senate to the effect that the time had come for mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions were adopted -- with the support of Senate Energy committee Chair Domenici (R-N.M.). This poses a problem for Barton, who is still questioning the science (and scientists) of global warming. He'd probably be happy keeping the Hagel language and ditching the Sense of the Senate, but will Senators -- especially Senate Energy committee ranking member Bingaman (D-NM), whose language it is -- let him?

Viking says: This is a relatively obscure issue, yet profoundly relevant to the average energy consumer and investors

PUHCA: Say what? That would be the Public Utility Holding Company Act. Before Social Security was the hot FDR/New Deal legislation to denigrate, there was PUCHA. If you think the Enron debacle was bad, it could have been a whole lot worse without PUCHA. So what do both versions of the energy bill do? Repeal it! The Senate threw in some extra merger oversight authority for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but consumer groups say it's not enough. Looks like if there is an energy bill, you can kiss PUCHA good-bye. But what, if any, safeguards will legislators leave to protect us the next time "the smartest guys in the room" come up with an idea?

more:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2005/7/18/16225/6724

[atommom]

1. Thanks! This is scary stuff.

[phantom power]

2. I'm becoming convinced that our bicameral legislature has to go.

It seems to me that 90% of the energy spent these days is just friction between the House version and Senate version of everything. Worse, it allows these jackasses to play deliberate political games. These guys regularly waste time sponsoring legislation that they know won't pass both house and senate. It's just PR for one constituency or another.

I would keep the House, ditch the Senate. Think how great this would be. A bill would either pass or not. No endless back-and-forth. No sponsoring bills that they don't really intend to get passed. If they sponsor it, and the House passes it, it's law, and they are accountable for the consequences, no relying on the Senate to kill it for them.

I'd also get rid of anonymous voting. If you're a legislator, your vote on every bill is recorded to keep you fully accountable to your constituents.