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ENERGY
Bill’s bad qualities outweigh good

It wouldn’t be the United States Congress without some sort of shenanigans going on.

The latest occurred in an energy bill passed by the House of Representatives Monday. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will cost John and Jane Q. Taxpayer $32 billion over 10 years, with other estimates exceeding even that gaudy number.

In and of itself, that’s not too bad. We like energy as much as the next media outlet, but the problem lies in where the money is going.

The bill does next to nothing to promote the conservation and the introduction of renewable energy sources. More than that, most of the tax incentives go towards propping up oil, gas and coal producers. This action helps block the entry into the market of firms that utilize renewable energy.

Gasoline companies must now use twice as much ethanol, a corn-based fuel additive, in their product. Boy, you’d think a key election state like Iowa produced a lot of corn and a presidential caucus was coming up. No, that couldn’t be the reason.

The bill also released companies that make MTBE from any lawsuits. MTBE is a gasoline additive that has contaminated drinking water in upwards of 28 states.

Despite its shortcomings, the bill does do some good. Measures are put into place under the new plan to make the operators of electrical transmission lines more accountable for blackouts like the one that gripped New York and a sizable portion of the northeast this summer. Energy efficient homes and owners of gas-electric hybrid cars get an extra tax break under the new plan.

The bill, like anything else, has its good and bad parts. But as it stands, the bad outweighs the good.