Amending Fences
Energy bill goes to Senate floor amidst bipartisan hopes
With the public up in arms about gas prices and President Bush breathing down its neck, today the Senate begins consideration — again — of the Moby Dick of modern-day politics: the energy bill. The House already passed a version, attacked by greens and fiscal conservatives for its billions in subsidies to fossil-fuel industries. By all accounts, a new spirit of bipartisan cooperation on energy matters is afoot in the Senate, and its version is likely to be less overtly fossil-friendly. Amendments have been offered that would boost ethanol use, require more electricity to be generated by renewable sources, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and raise fuel-economy standards. And no less than three amendments intended to fight global warming are on offer, including the much-discussed McCain-Lieberman proposal. It remains to be seen whether any of these eco-friendly amendments will find their way into the Senate’s final bill, whether the bill itself will pass, and, if it does, whether it will survive contentious negotiations in the House-Senate conference committee, where MTBE liability remains a huge sticking point.