US energy bill could pass if MTBE dropped-Daschle

[Kolesar]

US energy bill could pass if MTBE dropped-Daschle
Reuters, 01.07.04, 3:10 PM ET
By Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle Wednesday said Republicans could pick up six Senate votes for stalled energy legislation if they dropped controversial measures to protect oil companies from lawsuits.

The sweeping energy bill, which would offer $31 billion in tax incentives for oil, gas, nuclear and other energy sources, failed by two votes to pass the U.S. Senate in November.

Democrats and moderate Republicans have heaped their opposition on measures that would shelter makers of fuel additive MTBE -- methyl tertiary butyl ether -- from product-defect lawsuits.

SNIP

Senator Daschle is feeling the heat since Thune said he will run against him.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/01/07/rtr1201699.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. PSLRA of 1995: You think the Republicans would have learned by now?

Re: The 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA)

Immunizing CEOs, or accountants or the corrupt oil industry is bad business and bad politics. It just creates the next crisis for this country. More short-term solutions from short-minded Republicans.

As a footnote, I came across a great web article on the PSLRA of 1995. It is Clinton's redemption and Lieberman's albatross.

http://www.enronwatchdog.org/topreforms/topreforms5.html

[maxanne]

2. my Republican senators

are voting against the energy bill, since NH suing the oil companies on account of MTBE. I hope Daschle will buck up and be a good Democrat, but I no longer have any hope for him - or most of them for that matter. We need to clean house and unseat the spineless.

[hatrack]

3. Wrong again, Tommy-boy!

This bill is arguably an even bigger POS than the prescription drug "benefit" bill. For him to signal that removing one particularly odious provision from a stinking shitwagon of a bill would make passage possible is just contemptible.

But then, I suppose you just can't genuflect enough to the Great God Ethanol if you're from the Corn Belt. Further proof that the new Democratic Senate Leader needs to be from anywhere but the upper Midwest.

[ChemEng]

4. The whole notion of MTBE being a defective product is

ludricrous. The problem is, and has been, leaking underground storage tanks. Do people actually believe that somehow MTBE leaks preferentially through steel or polyurethane walls versus gasoline? Taking MTBE out doesn't stop leaking tanks. Mmmmmmm, benzene really perks up the taste of water, don't you agree?

MTBE has done more to clean up the environment than any other chemical. Since California took MTBE out last summer, their ozone has increased tremendously. All so that we can transfer billions of dollars to ADM and the midwest.

We really ought to look at Europe. They are perfectly happy with MTBE.

[treepig]

6. of course environment considerations have nothing to do

with the banning of MTBE (except as a political smokescreen). the real reason is that the alternative to MTBE is ethanol (so surprise, surprise about daschle's stand)

[Kolesar]

7. Porked from both ends

Senator-Corn-state cannot vote against grain farmers due to the 2003 energy bill helping to create a demand for ethanol. Further, if MTBE is discontinued, it means even more demand for ethanol-from-corn. Very astute observation, treepig.

[dusty64]

5. Once again I

have to ask who these Democratic "leaders" are really working for. I guess now is the time to put the pressure on these politicians since they constantly forget who they actually work for and have VERY short memories.