In preparation for the upcoming midterm elections, Dems have largely stripped out their beloved "climate control" measures that would severely punish consumers and are instead focused on going after the source:
The bill would aim to hold BP Plc accountable for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill and boost investment in vehicles fueled by natural gas and electricity. ...In other words, Democrats aren't solely focused on trying to regulate American oil companies out of business--they'll just raise the liability cap so no oil company would want to do business here. There are countries all over the world who would happily welcome the jobs and revenue an American oil company could bring to their shores. Sadly, under Dem control, America just ain't one of 'em.
Among its provisions, the bill will likely force companies to spend more money to cover the costs of oil spills, raising the liability cap to $10 billion or more from $75 million.
And if that's not enough, why don't we just nudge people away from using gasoline while we're at it?
Reid's bill will also contain incentives to convert trucks to run on natural gas and for cars to run on electricity. ...Yeah, that oughta do it.
The natural gas trucks incentives could cost the government $4.1 billion. ...To pay for these measures, lawmakers may consider raising taxes on the oil and gas industry.
In contrast, the GOP introduced their own energy bill last week which includes provisions to lift Obama's drilling moratorium and allow for royalty revenue sharing with states.
And just in case you doubt the Dems' plan, the
Last week, Reid said Congress could revisit climate legislation in September but lawmakers and analysts doubt there will be much appetite ahead of congressional elections in November.
And if Republicans pick up seats in Congress, as expected, the effort to put a price on carbon emissions could be stalled for years, which would also hamper the Obama administration's efforts to take a lead role at world climate talks.