Top Ten Questions for the House GOP on Energy
08/06/2008
As a small band of House Republicans remain on the House floor to call for “drill only” legislation that would not bring immediate relief to consumers, their constituents deserve to know why their representatives in Congress have failed to support serious, responsible proposals put forward by the New Direction Congress. Americans have a right to know if House Republicans will reverse their opposition to these proposals; will Senate Republicans, including Senator McCain, stop blocking these bills; and will the President sign them?
1. House Democrats have put forward 13 major proposals that would increase supply, reduce prices, protect consumers and transition America to a clean, renewable energy-independent future. Each time a majority of House Republicans have voted against these proposals. How can Republicans claim to want to help consumers and businesses when they oppose these policies?
First of all Speaker Pelosi the legislation passed so what are you complaining about? The President signed it into law when it landed on his desk. There were at least 331 amendments submitted. As people have said before, there are two things you don’t want to see how they’re made, laws and sausage. It is not unusual for politicians, yourself included, to vote for or against legislation for purely political reasons. It’s nothing new, it is just how sausage laws are made. It is also possible that members of the GOP voted against your touted legislation because it was a bad bill. Whenever you force business or the consuming public to submit to your demands there is a price tag. For instance, the costs asociated with legislation may outweigh any benefit intended. The excerpt below from the Public Law which is your item one is a good example of little or no benefit from the cost of the legislation to businesses and consumers.
“(2) Fuel economy standards for automobiles.–
“(A) Automobile fuel economy average for model
years 2011 through 2020.–The Secretary shall prescribe
a separate average fuel economy standard for passenger
automobiles and a separate average fuel economy standard
for non-passenger automobiles for each model year
beginning with model year 2011 to achieve a combined
fuel economy average for model year 2020 of at least 35
miles per gallon for the total fleet of passenger and
non-passenger automobiles manufactured for sale in the
United States for that model year.
“(B) Automobile fuel economy average for model
years 2021 through 2030.–For model years 2021 through
2030, the average fuel economy required to be attained
by each fleet of passenger and non-passenger automobiles
manufactured for sale in the United States shall be the
maximum feasible average fuel economy standard for each
fleet for that model year.
“(C) Progress toward standard required.–In
prescribing average fuel economy standards under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall prescribe annual
fuel economy standard increases that increase the
applicable average fuel economy standard ratably
beginning with model year 2011 and ending with model
year 2020.
It appears the fuel economy standards you are so happy with will not provide improvements any time soon. And even by 2020 or beyond or even the next few years if it were likely, 35 mpg will not solve much.
The other items in your ‘background’ list are quite repetitive. You mention energy efficient homes and buildings more than once but it does beg the question about existing homes. Are your new standards practical for new AND existing homes? You may have a point about royalties owed to the American taxpayer. But proving price gouging or taxing oil companies more than the billions they pay already will only be passed to the consumer or cause reductions in supply. Trying to control investment speculation, tapping the strategic reservce or forcing oil companies to drill anywhere are lame proposals. If anyone cares to support parts of the ‘13 proposals’ fashioned by the Democrats in the House, knock yourself out.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Public Affairs, Money Matters, wordpress, Politics, Democrats, oil, Legislation, Energy.
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