Lawmakers Get Ready To Revisit Energy Bills House, Senate Must Reconcile Widely Varying Legislation

By Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 5, 2007; D01

Congress looks set to tackle energy legislation -- again.

Galvanized by a combination of $70-a-barrel crude oil prices, $3-a-gallon gasoline, war in the oil-rich Middle East and growing anxiety about climate change, House and Senate leaders have pushed through separate energy bills.

The only problem is that the two bills don't match, and the differences could prove tough to iron out.

• The Senate voted for raising average vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles a gallon; in the House, disagreement among Democrats prevented such a measure from reaching the floor.

• The House voted for a renewable-energy standard for utilities; support in the Senate fell short.

• The Senate voted to raise the minimum level of ethanol consumption nationwide; a House version never came to a vote.

• The House voted to increase royalty and tax payments for oil companies and give tax incentives for renewable resources and energy efficiency; the Senate didn't adopt any tax package.

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_____________________________________________________________________ Well, give them a few weeks, they're just back from vacation, poor dears and haven't had time for the energy lobbyists to call. When it's all put together, chewed on and spit back out, it will be a package that throws stones at the auto industry and money at the farmers.

* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Fuels and Energy, check out Opinion-Columns.com