PELOSI'S INSULT

Nancy Pelosi has issued another hate-filled, fact-free diatribe, this time on energy independance & “the failed Bush Energy policy”. This statement is so devoid of logical thought that it’ll require a thorough fisking.

One year ago, the top Republican charged with drafting the energy bill, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, said the Republican energy bill “will lower energy prices for consumers, spur our economy, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.”

Ms. Pelosi knows full well that Barton’s statement wasn’t talking about IMMEDIATELY reducing energy prices. During the entire debate on that legislation, senators, congressmen and special interest groups said that this legislation wouldn’t lower gas prices for 8-10 years. That fact wasn’t disputed by anyone.

Furthermore, Pelosi should be ridiculed for saying this when it she voted against the bill that the GOP congress passed in 1995, which, had President Clinton not demagogued it after vetoing it, would’ve put ANWR online right about now. Instead, Clinton vetoed itso he could have a legacy of protecting the environment. I said then what I’ll say now: that Clinton’s veto was irresponsible because it placed off limits a huge oil reserve, causing us to rely even more on foreign oil.

It’s also important to note that the Clinton Administration didn’t deal with our electric grid infrastructure, something that this legislation dealt with. Ms. Pelosi ignores that point. What’s the chance that her not highlighting that was coincidence?

“The day the President signed the energy bill, he promised that it would ‘help our economic growth by addressing the root causes of high energy prices and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.’

Ms. Pelosi must think we’re a bunch of idiots to fall for that line. What the President’s energy bill was address the longterm root causes of our energy problem, causes that President Clinton ignored and demagogued. The truth is that President Bush led the way in finally addressing America’s energy needs, with lots of help from Sen. Pete Domenici, (R-NM).

“Democrats have a New Direction for America, one that would end our dependence on foreign oil, and we intend to do it within 10 years. Our energy plan takes advantage of America’s untapped potential by increasing capacity of biofuels, promoting consumption of those fuels, expanding distribution, and advancing research and development for new technologies. Our plan will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not the Middle East.”

Isn’t it interesting that Ms. Pelosi doesn’t have a plan to help lower energy costs right now? She berates President Bush for not snapping his fingers and lowering high gas prices but it’s ok for her to suggest something that will eventually solve our high gas price problem? What’s worse is that she isn’t telling the American people that there’s a bill that the House will vote on eventually that will increase energy production in the Gulf.

Let’s talk about what the Energy Bill does:

Energy Legislation Encourages Energy Conservation And Efficiency. By supporting new energy efficient technologies, the government can offer every American better energy security at lower costs. More money is being spent on energy efficiency research today than ever before.

I thought Ms. Pelosi said that they had a plan to “advance research and development for new technologies.”

Promoting Residential Efficiency. Technology offers the possibility of a “zero-energy” home. The average American home loses between 10 and 50 percent of its energy through inadequate insulation and inefficient lights and appliances. President Bush is committed to supporting research that promotes advances in energy efficiency, and the energy bill offers consumers tax credits for making energy efficiency improvements in their homes.

Increasing The Efficiency Of Appliances And Commercial Products. The energy bill sets new minimum energy efficiency standards for a range of consumer and commercial products, including heaters, refrigerators, and lighting units. It also encourages the sale and production of energy efficient products, which increases the supply of available energy, helping families meet their bottom lines. Tax credits are available for highly efficient central air conditioners, heat pumps, and water heaters, as well as to upgrade thermostats, install exterior windows, and stop energy waste.

Reducing Federal Government Energy Usage. The Federal government is the largest user of energy, and the energy bill calls on Federal agencies to lead by example and improve their energy efficiency. The energy bill reauthorizes the Energy Savings Performance Contract program, which allows private contractors to help Federal agencies improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. The bill also sets aggressive new goals for Federal energy efficiency and requires agencies to purchase Energy Star products.

Modernizing Domestic Energy Infrastructure. The energy bill will help modernize our aging energy infrastructure to help reduce the risk of large-scale blackouts and minimize transmission bottlenecks. This will be accomplished by repealing outdated rules that discourage investment in new infrastructure, offering tax incentives for new transmission construction, and by encouraging the development of new technologies, such as superconducting power lines, to make the grid more efficient.

Diversifying The Nation’s Energy Supply With Renewable Sources. The energy bill will promote the use of renewable energy sources with tax credits for wind, solar, and biomass energy, including the first-ever tax credit for residential solar energy systems. The bill also expands research into developing hydrogen technologies and establishes a flexible, national Renewable Fuels Standard to encourage greater use of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.

For all of Ms. Pelosi’s talk about a new direction, there’s an awful lot of her plan in this bill. Considering that, what makes the energy bill that President Bush signed a failure?

Considering all that this legislation does, shouldn’t Ms. Pelosi’s statement be a total embarassment to her? To a level-headed, commonsense person. The thing is that Ms. Pelosi isn’t a level-headed, commonsense person.

She’s just a political hack who shouldn’t be anything more than a back-bencher in Congress.