NYT: Senate Makes Environment the Focus of Energy Bill

[Pirate Smile]

WASHINGTON, June 16 - Heading toward a collision with the House and White House, the Senate sought Thursday to put an environmentally friendly stamp on its energy legislation as lawmakers and President Bush struggle to agree on an elusive national power policy.

In an effort to strengthen their hand in looming negotiations with the House, senators voted 52 to 48 to require power companies to use more renewable fuels like wind and solar power to generate electricity. At the same time, the Finance Committee approved a $14 billion tax incentive package that rewards alternative fuels and energy efficiency.

-snip-
But the Senate did not go as far as he and other Democrats had urged, rejecting by a vote of 53 to 47 a Democratic proposal to establish a goal of a 40 percent reduction in oil imports within 20 years. Critics had called the target unattainable and pointed to a provision that calls on the president to try to reduce oil consumption by one million barrels a day.

Yet the direction the Senate is taking on energy policy is putting it at odds with the House, where longtime oil industry allies have already produced a measure favoring traditional fossil fuels. The Bush administration also opposes the utility requirements approved by the Senate as well as the provision encouraging the drop in oil use.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/politics/17energy.html

[depakid]

1. A 40% reduction in oil imports within 20 years! LOL!

I sometimes wonder what fucking planet these idiots live on-

Oh, there'll be a 40% reduction alright- and the paltry little "environmental" bones they're tossing around won't have anything to do with it- even if they had a snowball's chance of passing in the rapture ridden House.

[rodeodance]

2. lets see what cheney boy has to say about this!!!!

[Miss Chybil]

3. Oh, God forbid we stop using fossil fuels. Why should we do that

before we have global warfare over it and it runs out anyway?