Pelosi’s Energy Bill is a Sham
Posted September 16th, 2008 at 11:59am in Energy and Environment 
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The House introduced new energy legislation late last night. Finally…right? The House also wants to bring the 290-page bill, which can be found here, to the floor today. You think the 435 Members in the House of Representatives are going to meticulously read all 290 pages? A bill that makes fundamental changes to thousands of pages of earlier energy bills as well as the tax code. Please.
This isn’t Harry Potter. You can’t just cruise through something as complex as energy policy in one short night. It’s true that Congress should craft an energy policy as expeditiously as possible to lower the costs of energy, but don’t you think there’s a reason that House Democrats are rushing the process?
We can’t be that hasty. Just because the bill mentions drilling doesn’t mean it’s a good bill. The “compromise” bill would set a permanent ban on drilling within 50 miles of the coast while allowing states to decide whether they want to drill or not between 50 and 100 miles. But thanks to the Institute for Energy Research, let’s check out where the oil actually is. The bill would:
• Permanently ban access to 97% of the 10.5 billion barrels off the California coast. Then, California gets to decide whether to produce just 3% of its resources.
• Continue the ban on the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area with an estimated 3.65 barrels of oil and 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
• Institute a first-ever 50 mile ban off the coast of Alaska.
Check out these charts from IER; they illustrate the point nicely. And don’t forget, this is on top of new tax credits and government subsidies for unproven and unsuccessful renewable energy sources.
We’re just about two weeks away from celebrating Energy Freedom Day, where the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf would expire – giving us access to 18 or 19 billion barrels of oil. Pelosi’s bill would give us access to 4 billion while placing almost all of the rest permanently off limits.
Maybe the Members should stick with reading Harry Potter; at least that’s something worth reading.
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2 Responses to “Pelosi’s Energy Bill is a Sham”
GINNY WILSON on September 16th, 2008 at 11:59am said:
What is wrong with this crazy, greedy woman? Does she have just one grain of compassion or sympathy for the ordinary person (widow/widower) elderly on a low fixed income? It is so very clear that she simply loves and thrives on the whole country looking at her and she could care less if people hate her and what she is doing to this country. It would seem to me that it just should not be that one person should have this power. Where is our president? Is there nothing he can do? I do not know all of the ins and outs of how things run in Washington but it is certainly a fact that Washington really needs McCain/Palin to fix it. the system is so broken it is pathetic. I wish I could meet this woman face to face and watch her tell me “she cares”.
SHAME ON YOU NANCY PELOSI. YOU WILL REGRET YOUR ACTIONS ONE DAY!!!
Ginny Wilson
Frank on September 16th, 2008 at 11:59am said:
I wonder if the big wind propellar on top of my car will get caught on overhead wires or Signal Lights? Pelosi must return to California and take care of those tree huggers and grass eaters. McCain wanted to appoint his cabinet out of people outside of Washington. I can certainly understand why after seeing how Pres. Obama’s cabinet appointments have turned out. Most of them are so bad the democrats can’t even approve them.