Senate Kneecaps Energy Bill, Sends it Back to the House

And the President said he would sign it.

The bill is a shadow of the one that Pelosi sent over. It's got the headline measure in tact -- 35mpg fuel economy by 2030, but did we really need that now from Congress? The states, through the Mass v. EPA ruling, and other court decisions in Vermont and California (yesterday), have just about already done the job, despite the EPA's continued delay on the famous waiver.

The price for the federal fuel economy standard? Pretty steep. Oil companies get to keep billions in subsidies that Pelosi's bill would have redirected to renewables. And there's no national renewable energy standard provision any more.

And the bill contains massive support for the corn ethanol boondoggle.

What are we to call this?

Business as usual. BAU -- the initials you see marking the steepest curve on temperature charts that show what will happen if we do nothing about emissions.

There is a touch of good news though. The Dems were able to hold ground against an attempted assault against the Supreme Court's finding in Mass v. EPA -- that CO2 is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Michigan Senator Carl Levin led a charge to insert language into the energy bill that would have made EPA jursidiction over tailpipe emissions play second-fiddle to the industry-friendly Department of Transportation's authority to mandate CAFE standards.

The gambit failed, in part because Senators knew it would have been dealbreaker for Pelosi.

Madame Speaker, the bill is now coming at you with a fishy smelling vote of 86-8 in favor of the lowest common denominator and the promise of a signature from the Oval office. Yes, the expectation is that you won't oppose the momentum of politics as usual. And don't look now but there's massive pork for oil, coal and nuclear in the omnibus budget bill, up next.

You need more help, big time.

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