For all the recent talk about stalemates, vetoes, filibusters, and gridlock in Washington, last night the Senate passed an impressive and important energy bill.
The Senate passed a sweeping energy legislation package last night that would mandate the first substantial change in the nation’s vehicle fuel-efficiency law since 1975 despite opposition from auto companies and their Senate supporters.
After three days of intense debate and complex maneuvering, Democratic leaders won passage of the bill shortly before midnight by a 65 to 27 vote.
The package, which still must pass the House, would also require that the use of biofuels climb to 36 billion gallons by 2022, would set penalties for gasoline price-gouging and would give the government new powers to investigate oil companies’ pricing. It would provide federal grants and loan guarantees to promote research into fuel-efficient vehicles and would support test projects to capture carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants to be stored underground. […]
The passage of fuel-efficiency measure was viewed as a major triumph for the Democrats, particularly the last-minute dealmaking that enabled passage of the comprehensive change to mileage standards.
Good. The first national standards on fuel economy (CAFE) were passed in 1975 and have barely been touched since. Senate Dems, with a narrow Jeffords-inspired majority, launched an effort to boost fuel-economy standards in 2002, but Republicans and the oil companies strangled the effort before it went very far.
But the broader political dynamic has clearly changed in recent years. Not only is there a Democratic majority with a mandate to act on energy issues, there is also stronger public demand and fewer Republicans willing to take a stand on the wrong side of the issue. Dems hammered away yesterday, emphasizing both environmental and national security concerns, and managed to come away with a strong piece of legislation that won bi-partisan support.
This is not to say the bill couldn’t have been better — and would have been were it not for the Senate minority.
One measure Dems were anxious to pass was successfully filibustered.
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on major oil companies.
Democrats came three votes short of overcoming a threatened Republican filibuster that was keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. With a final vote of 57-36 — and a number of senators not voting — Democrats could resurrect the measure later, though there was no immediate indication of that.
The tax proposal had some bipartisan support, but some Republicans argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies was too harsh on the oil industry.
Poor oil industry, with their multibillion-dollar profit margins. It’s good to know the Senate GOP has their backs. Honestly, do they want Dems to paint them as shills for Big Oil in ’08?
In any case, kudos to Senate Dems for passing an important piece of legislation. On to the House.