Senate expected to approve energy bill - Yahoo! News
Massive tax breaks for people like Exxon Mobil, who reported a 32% second quarter profit increase. This bill is a giveaway to corporations that are already rolling in the dough. For the consumer? Well, here's a tax credit of...wait for it...a whole $500 for installing energy efficient windows! Wow!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate was poised on Friday to approve a $14.5 billion energy bill that is championed by the White House as a way to increase U.S. supplies and reduce demand but criticized by environmental groups.

Supporters say the measure will revive America's nuclear power industry, boost oil drilling, convert coal into a cleaner-burning fuel and use home-grown corn to stretch gasoline supplies.

Environmental groups and some Democrats criticize its extensive tax breaks, subsidies and loan guarantees as a lavish gift to an industry enjoying near-record profits.

The Senate was scheduled to vote on Friday on the energy bill, following the lead of the House of Representatives that approved it by a wide margin on Thursday. President Bush -- who spent the past four years pressing Congress to overhaul U.S. energy policy -- was expected to sign it into law soon afterward.

The bill will have no short-term impact on gasoline prices or oil imports, Republicans acknowledged. But longer term, they said it would revitalize all types of energy production.

And check this one out- just when you thought you were safe, back from the dark, dead pits of hell and greed comes ......Tom DeLay! And he's got a bunch of money for his friends! And he tacked this on after debate on the bill was closed!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay quietly slipped into the energy bill a $1.5 billion fund for oil and natural gas drilling research that will benefit an energy consortium based in his home district, a California Democrat said on Wednesday.

The measure was criticized as a "giveaway to one of the most profitable industries in America," by Rep. Henry Waxman, who demanded that the fund be dropped from the legislation before a House vote on the energy bill on Thursday.

The House is expected to approve the wide-ranging energy bill, which includes some $14.5 billion in tax breaks and incentives mostly for oil, natural gas, coal and electricity companies.

Waxman said the $1.5 billion fund for ultra-deepwater drilling was added to the final energy bill this week after House and Senate negotiators called a halt to any more amendments. The 30-page measure appeared in the text of the energy bill after Texas Rep. Joe Barton had officially ended the House and Senate conference committee to combine legislation passed by each chamber, he said.

"Obviously, it would be a serious abuse to secretly slip such a costly and controversial provision into the energy legislation," Waxman said in a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

A spokesman for DeLay defended the fund, saying it was in the energy bill approved by the House in April.

"The project is only new to Mr. Waxman if he failed to read the House bill he had voted on," the spokesman said, adding he could not explain how the item was added to the final version of legislation prepared by the Senate and House negotiators.

Waxman said the fund would steer most of the money to a private consortium based in Sugar Land, DeLay's home district, by directing the Energy Department to "contract with a corporation that is constructed as a consortium."

Members of the consortium, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, include Halliburton Co., Marathon Oil Corp. and several universities, according to the group's web site.

That's a mighty big piece 'o pork there, Tom. 1.5 billion, is that some kind of record?

This statement about the energy bill comes from Pelosi's office. I'm going to blog the whole damn thing.

WASHINGTON, July 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in opposition to the joint House-Senate energy bill conference report that passed in the House this afternoon:

"The American people need and deserve an energy policy that will reduce energy prices, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce pollution. Unfortunately this bill is not the answer.

"While it is an improvement over the original House bill, it is not good enough for the American people. Several of the most egregious provisions have been removed, thanks to the tireless work of the Democrats who served on the conference committee.

"We kept the heat on the MTBE give-away and the massive roll-back of the Clean Air Act until they were withdrawn. We fought to protect the Arctic National Refuge, making it too hot for the Republicans to handle -- forcing them to withdraw from the energy bill their plan to drill in the pristine wilderness.

"Nonetheless, like its predecessors, this energy bill is a missed opportunity. It does not address the issues that the American people care about -- lower gas prices at the pump, a healthy environment, safe water to drink, and cleaner air. This bill is still anti-taxpayer, anti-consumer, and anti-environment.

"It is anti-taxpayer with billions of dollars in gifts to the oil, gas, and nuclear industries, including a new production tax credit for eight years.

"Then there is the special gift for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. After the gavel went down on the energy bill conference, a provision was included that sets up a special $1.5 billion fund for the oil industry to conduct research on how to find oil, and a leading contender to host the consortium is Sugar Land, Texas. Consortium members, including Halliburton and Marathon Oil, can receive awards from the fund. There you have it: big oil, Halliburton, and Tom DeLay, all in one neat symbolic package.

"At a time when Congress is trying to scrape together enough federal funding for veterans' health care, Social Security, education, Medicare, and Medicaid, why are we giving away taxpayer money hand over fist to well-established, profitable companies?

"The energy bill is anti-consumer. It fails to protect consumers from high gasoline prices. It fails to adequately protect consumers from price manipulations and future Enrons. And it fails to protect our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

"Last but not least, this bill is anti-environment. It carves out exemptions for the oil and gas industry from the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Clean Water Act. It also authorizes an oil and gas inventory of the Outer Continental Shelf, opening the door to oil and gas drilling in the protected areas off our shores."

There you go America. Your Congress, which just got done giving away your jobs, turns around and gives a bunch of money to the energy companies.

Are we having fun yet? We will soon!