Letter it all out

Party leaders in the House exchange heated notes about energy policy 5

Muckraker: Grist on Politics

The House energy battle is underway again this week, with votes on a bill possible as early as tomorrow. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released an outline of the Democrats' bill last week; it would open some new areas to offshore drilling and provide support for efficiency and renewables. House Republicans are demanding a vote on their own "all of the above" energy bill, introduced in July, which is heavier on the drilling and lighter on everything else.

Minority Leader John Boehner has effectively rejected the Dems' plan. He and other House GOP leaders sent a letter [PDF] to Pelosi last week criticizing her for letting the House go on August recess without having passed the Republicans' energy bill.

Pelosi responded with a letter of her own on Friday, calling Boehner's letter an "act of desperation." She wrote, "It is curious that you would consistently side with the Big Oil companies against the U.S. taxpayers and consumers both on the House floor and during the recent recess." Pelosi ended by expressing hope that the remaining weeks of this Congress "will be marked by cooperation and bipartisan efforts rather than by partisanship." Don't hold your breath.

Debate on energy legislation resumes today and is likely to continue until the 110th Congress wraps up at the end of the month.

Kate Sheppard is Grist’s political reporter.

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  1. Sean Casten's avatar

    Sean Casten Posted 8:05 am
    15 Sep 2008

    Politcs, not policyThe bill being kicked around is a grab bag.  Some good, some bad, but much more about being able to say that a vote was taken before recess than actually doing anything very holistic.  
    So yes, heated notes were exchanged... but I'd argue that they were about politics, not policy.  

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  2. morganmghee Posted 9:07 am
    15 Sep 2008

    A letter of your ownWhy not add your own letter to the stack.  I advocate asking the Dem's to stand firm, no new drilling areas, use 'em or lose 'em current leases, tougher oversight and restrictions on commodity speculation, flip subsidies and incentives from oil to alternative energy production. To me it is the only plan to end the cycle of oil violence, create new jobs and clean up the air, land and water. Whatever your stance, take a moment to pen a letter, or leave a voice mail message. http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

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  3. mreinbold Posted 11:08 am
    15 Sep 2008

    A letter of your own"oil violence" My God, you people are loonies.

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  4. morganmghee Posted 3:15 pm
    15 Sep 2008

    Ok, mreinboldWe'll call it what it is, the war for oil in Iraq.

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  5. MClemens Posted 2:04 am
    16 Sep 2008

    Better than a letter...Is a call to your elected officials. I put one in last week per the urging of the WE campaign. Of course I talked to a staffer and not the actual congressperson but I at least got a word in. The last time I called and left a message about an issue (it was related to ANWR), I got a hand-signed response letter back in the mail so I'm confident my messages do get delivered. Whether they're heeded or not is another story.
    Here's the link that WE gave me to find contact numbers.

    MClemens

    Permalink

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