“Pelosi’s No, No, No, Energy Bill”

Murphy votes with Pelosi on energy, abandoning the more comprehensive bill he co-sponsored on July 31st.

(Sept.17, 2008) – Doylestown, PA. (Manion for Congress)

“This is the no, no, no new energy bill,” said Tom Manion after the passage of a new offshore energy bill Tuesday evening. “The American people deserve better from their leaders than rushed legislation that fails to include input from both parties. Our own Congressman co-sponsored a comprehensive energy bill just before his vacation, but abandoned it last night in favor of this hoax of a bill.”

This new bill appears to open up limited areas to offshore drilling, but it does so without allowing states to share in the revenue. This provision significantly reduces the chance that states will exercise the option to drill.

“… This bill most certainly won’t see the light of day in the Senate,” [1] said Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a state familiar with oil revenue sharing. The more comprehensive Peterson-Abercrombie energy bill, named for the two Congressmen who drafted it, allows for revenue sharing and several other energy options. Congressman Murphy co-sponsored this bill on July 31st. A look at the two bills is below.

“Why would Murphy abandon the better solution that he co-sponsored just a few weeks ago? Why would Murphy say this is ‘the energy package he has been calling for all along?” asked Manion. “I’m sure the voters of district 8 will see this vote for what it is – a pathetic attempt to cover up that this Congress hasn’t been able to find energy solutions and get the job done.”

• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill repeals the offshore ban and allows drilling beyond 25 miles, with states having complete authority from 25 to 50 miles off their coastline.
• The Pelosi bill permanently bans drilling within 50 miles, where nearly 90% of known oil reserves exist.
• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill strikes the ban on gas and oil production in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
• The Pelosi bill maintains the ban on drilling in the oil-rich Eastern Gulf.
• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill includes revenue sharing for the producing states and for investments into renewable sources of energy and the low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP)
• The Pelosi bill denies revenue sharing to the states.
• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill permits the development of oil shale in the Western states.
• The Pelosi bill permanently prohibits oil shale leasing unless a state enacts a law to authorize it.
• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill repeals the ban on federal agencies purchasing alternative or synthetic fuels such as oil shale, tar sands, and clean coal-to-liquid technology.
• The Pelosi bill maintains this federal prohibition.
• The Peterson-Abercrombie bill includes tax extensions and tax deductions for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation.