Wasted Energy on Energy - Congress and President Are a Quart Low

Congress has wasted four years and a lot of energy on a bill that does little for our nation's energy. Today the Senate passed a 1,724 page bill that easily sailed through the House yesterday. President Bush has stated that he will sign the bill into law. As stated in the article below, the bill "does nothing to reduce the high cost of energy, especially at the gasoline pumps, and will not reduce the country's heavy reliance on oil imports. Its supporters maintained that in the long-term it will refocus the country's energy priorities and promote cleaner energy and more conservation."

Great! Is that what Congress was supposed to be solving--no help at the pumps but more conservation! Why did they waste time on that? Is this what we need?

Congress should deal with tough decisions and expand our domestic production of oil and feasible energy sources. Unbelievably, the bill didn't even mention drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which contains billions of barrels of oil. Instead, we're held hostage to supplies from the Mideast, and we continue to have military and political conflicts there to protect our interests. Just wait until China starts sucking up even more of that oil that we have been buying. Congress wasted time on wind power!!, which makes people feel good and has no potential. We need nuclear energy, but so-called environmentalists keep energy companies so tied up in regulations and lawsuits that the projects stall as soon as they start. Has anyone considered that fighting in the Mideast could be reduced if radical environmentalists stepped out of the way of domestic oil production and nuclear energy? Why doesn't Congress stand up to people who seem more concerned about crippling our economy than saving lives?

Read the highlights of the article below or click on the title for the full article. What do you think should be in our nation's energy plan? In this case, I have to agree with one of the Democrats. Yes, it has come to that. I am agreeing with a Democrat. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) said, "This bill is literally a series of missed opportunities." No kidding.

Congress Passes Far-Reaching Energy Bill
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Jul 29, 4:31 PM (ET)

Below, the article is condensed to show the highlights.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Four years after President Bush called for an overhaul of the nation's energy agenda, Congress presented him with a mammoth plan he said he was eager to sign - even though it costs twice as much as he wanted and won't open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling.

Some senators said the bill, despite its broad sweep, does nothing to reduce the high cost of energy, especially at the gasoline pumps, and will not reduce the country's heavy reliance on oil imports. Its supporters maintained that in the long-term it will refocus the country's energy priorities and promote cleaner energy and more conservation.

"I look forward to signing it into law," Bush said in a statement, calling the legislation "critically important to our long-term national and economic security."

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who led Senate negotiations on the bill with the House, acknowledged that it will not lower gas prices or even affect oil imports in the short term.

The bill's price tag - $12.3 billion over 10 years - is twice what the White House originally had put forward and raised caution among some senators.

During two presidential campaigns and repeatedly over the last five years, Bush has talked of the need to tap the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for the billions of barrels of oil that it holds. He views it as key to reducing the country's reliance on foreign oil. It is not mentioned in the energy bill.

"This bill is literally a series of missed opportunities," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore

There it is. This is not leadership and our nation is going to suffer severely for not having a credible energy plan. Soon, it's going to come to the point that the banks will install gas pumps at the drive-up tellers. You hand over your paycheck and they cash it to fill up your tank. It's just a matter of time until we experience gas shortages like the country did in the mid-1970s. Congress and the President can and should do better. What they have done is avoid short-term responsibility, which will result in long-term problems.

Well, I'll see you at the pumps--but, only while they still have something in them.