Filling the Trough

It’s payback time on Capitol Hill. The energy bill passed by the House Wednesday night isn’t about strengthening America’s strategic energy position. It’s about something much simpler--a gigantic giveaway to the energy industry.

The dishonesty begins with the bill’s very first sentence: “To enhance energy conservation, research and development .... “ In fact, the bill does not just ignore conservation, it actually subverts it. It epitomizes Vice President Dick Cheney’s view that conservation is for wimps.

The bill, among other things, extends a loophole for automobiles that can also run on ethanol but rarely do; this means that overall vehicle fuel efficiency would probably be reduced.

Yet 36 Democrats joined Republicans in voting for this legislation, giving President Bush a comfortable margin of victory and, as with the tax cut, cozy bipartisan cover. Not surprisingly, it was mostly Democrats from auto-producing and energy states who supported the bill. These include John D. Dingell (Mich.), Brad Carson (Okla.) and Chet Edwards (Texas), as well as Californians Joe Baca (Rialto) and Calvin M. Dooley (Visalia).

Too bad. The bill is a natural target for Democrats. For one thing, the links between campaign contributions and the bill’s provisions could hardly be clearer. In an analysis released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) called “Hitting the Jackpot,” the rewards for industry are outlined. The report mischievously observes that the cumulative value of the 2000 election campaign contributions by the coal, oil and gas, nuclear and utility industries--the lion’s share of which went to the GOP--was $69.5 million; the total value of the tax breaks and subsidies is $36.4 billion, with a b. The rate of return on this “investment” is a whopping 52,200%.

Specifically, the coal mining industry, which contributed $3.8 million, would receive $1.1 billion in direct subsidies in the next three years and an extra $1.4 billion over the next seven years. Typical of the bill is that government would assume the industry’s costs for applying to mine coal on federal lands.

The oil industry, which contributed $33.3 million in 2000, would get tax breaks worth $12.8 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. For instance, it would no longer have to pay royalties for oil and gas lease sales.

The only good news is that the Senate is not likely to pass the energy bill unamended. First priority: Stop the opening of the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration.

Smart politicians--both Democrats and Republicans--have a chance here to gain points by denouncing wasteful spending. With the budget surplus vanishing, this is hardly the time to be handing out billions in corporate welfare.