Energy Legislation Update

Expect to see more of this in the coming weeks (if the media can manage to stop amplifying lies, that is):

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democratic leaders in the House have outlined a new energy plan that proposes allowing drilling 100 miles off the Atlantic coast and Florida's Gulf coast. The buffer zone could be reduced to 50 miles if a state's governor and legislature consent (which is a big "if"). The plan, which hasn't yet been formally released, also contains increased funding for renewable energy. They're calling it the "Comprehensive American Energy Security & Taxpayer Protection Act," and it includes a number of measures that have stalled previously -- curbing energy speculators, establishing a renewable electricity standard, and repealing subsidies to Big Oil.

Expect this to turn into some partisan gamesmanship, depending on how many Republicans join in:

House Republicans are unlikely to go along with the proposal. Last week, before the Dems officially unveiled anything, House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) made it fairly clear that his party wants its energy bill or no energy bill at all. Yesterday he criticized the Democrats' new plan in a statement: "It leaves most American energy under lock and key when we should be doing everything possible to expand energy production, increase conservation, and promote development of clean, renewable energy. It would permanently lock up 80 percent of our nation's offshore energy resources -- holding hostage billions of barrels of American oil."

I'm really getting sick of these guys (Boehner, etc.) using OCS drilling as a political football. It would have an "insignificant" impact on the world market. What's really important is the other stuff in the bill (how it deals with speculators, how subsidies are allocated, what portfolio standards are proposed, etc.). That's what people should be watching and arguing over.

UPDATE: This is the same Boehner who voted against a Mother's Day resolution in order to stall and delay Congress.

UPDATE II: This is the same Boehner who stacked a global warming committee with Republicans who, as a requirement for committee membership, had to renounce their belief in global warming. Boehner is an obstructionist, plain and simple. That's what he does.That's what he will do when this Energy legislation comes up.