Think Progress

House passes energy bill.

By Ali Frick on Dec 6th, 2007 at 4:06 pm

House passes energy bill.

In a 235-181 vote, the House approved the Energy Independence and Security Act today.

energy-bill-vote.jpg

The bill would raise the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) level for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, require utilities to generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources, and increase funding for biofuels like “cellulosic” ethanol. The White House has threatened to veto the bill.



42 Responses to “House passes energy bill.”

  1. RUCerious says:

    Veto away assclown. your miserable political party is going down the tubes anyhoo.


  2. Frosty Cupcake says:

    “Congressional Democrats have hammered out a complicated deal that could result in a 40 percent boost in fuel efficiency standards by 2020.”

    Of course he’s going to veto it, because, you know, oil is going to last forever.


  3. Leftside Annie says:

    Yeah. God forbid Chimpy would approve of ANYTHING that might really help America.

    He should choke on his veto.


  4. raynman says:

    Since, god forbid we ever have energy independence….


  5. Leftside Annie says:

    I’m sure all the good German Republicans in the Senate will fall in and march in lockstep behind der fuhrher.


  6. deebaser says:

    35 mpg by 2020?

    Aren’t we going to have jet packs by then?


  7. Max-1 says:

    .

    What?

    Is the House passing bills that aren’t VETO PROOF?

    Do they have the votes in the Senate?

    .


  8. VerbalKint says:

    Veto away, dry drunk frat boy. That will lose a couple more seats in the house for your side.


  9. Max-1 says:

    .

    And the AUTO CORPORATIONS take on the issue is…
    Keep it under forty?

    Did ANY AUTO CORPORATIONS lobby this down, if so how much? To WHOM?

    .


  10. texaslady says:

    I think Bush would veto a raise for himself just to make the Dems look like they aren’t doing anything.
    Most of us are already doing what we can to get 30+ miles to a gallon, like car maintenance. Now to expect corporations to give up the dividends and profits to clean their pollution….never happen.


  11. Clumberfeet says:

    If it doesn’t get killed in the Senate by a non-two-thirds majority it will be vetoed by the president and blamed on the do nothing Democratic Congress.


  12. Kid Dynomite says:

    Of course he’ll veto it. It’s not like anything he’s done over the last 7 years has actually helped America as a whole.


  13. Krazny says:

    Actually Detroit needs to set these standards themselves, or continue to wonder why Toyota, and Honda, who produce numerous vehicles that already get over 35 MPG are overtaking them.


  14. patooty says:

    Energy independence means less bucks in the private offshore accounts of Bush, Cheney, and his corporate cronies.


  15. deebaser says:

    If it doesn’t get killed in the Senate by a non-two-thirds majority it will be vetoed by the president and blamed on the do nothing Democratic Congress.

    Comment by Clumberfeet — December 6, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
    ——
    FYI, you don’t need a 2/3rds majority to pass the Senate, just 60 votes for cloture (close debate, bring it up for a vote).

    Fillibusters would be less retarded if they actually required a damn fillibuster.


  16. patooty says:

    If he vetoes it, he will look like one total asshat to the american people. Soon they’ll start throwing rotten tomatoes at him during his press conferences.


  17. leftcoast says:

    The CAFE settings in the legislation are still too low to do any good. When will we get leadership that knows how to lead by setting the bar and challenging America to rise to the occasion?
    Nothing will change in America until we remove the corporate lobbying dollar from the greedy pockets of congress.


  18. Bobwurst says:

    If Duhtroit would get off it’s collective corporate ass and start making new cars that meet these standards then maybe they won’t go out of business.


  19. patooty says:

    All I can say is that I surely hope that the Bush Cabal had better have good security when they leave office. I believe that they are the most dispised individuals in this country at this point. They’re certainly the most disrespected people at their own hand as a result of their actions. They don’t deserve one iota of respect or reverence. The more they lie to the people; the more the people dispise them.


  20. Juan C. says:

    First the US:

    The United States Energy Association (the WEC
    Member Committee for the USA) reports that,
    according to the EIA, central station photovoltaic
    capacity was 11 000 kW at the end of 2005 and
    that, on the basis of the stock of equipment in
    place, there was an estimated 485 000 kW of
    dispersed PV capacity in operation.

    Then Germany:

    Germany has the highest level of installed PV
    capacity amongst the European members of the
    IEA-PVPS. At end-2005 its capacity stood at
    1 429 MWp, 25 times that of the next biggest
    country (Spain). Out of the installed PV total, 29
    MWp was off-grid and 1 400 MWp gridconnected.


  21. patooty says:

    leftcoast: You know this is a “token measure” which means very little. Real standards would be much greater than what they are proposing.


  22. dim wit says:

    The White House has threatened to veto the bill.

    Now Bush is just being an a$$hole.


  23. Fan of Man says:

    im shocked and yawned! the whitehouse to veto a kind of a good thing.


  24. Menehune says:

    Well whoop–dee-f’in-doo! 35mpg by 2020? Didn’t they have diesel Rabbits that got 55mpg back in 1978? That’ll get us some energy independence. We should be just about out of oil at that point anyway.


  25. Theresa says:

    Of course Bush will veto the bill; it cuts into Big Oil’s and the Utilities’ profits. Naturally, the vote was pretty much along party lines. Here’s the roll call:

    http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1140.xml

    God forbid Bush signs something that’s positive that reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.


  26. Poop on Republicans says:

    Only reason I’d say veto it is if they were going to shorten the timespan. 35mpg in the next 5 years mofos. While we’re at it, lets bump the 15% up to 20%. If those changes aren’t to be made, don’t veto this bill you assclown.


  27. texaslady says:

    If Bush would veto the insurance bill for kids would he veto this bill. Oh thats right he did !


  28. leftcoast says:

    patooty,
    America has no STANDards. All we do in America is tokenism. Congress makes statements; the people write letters; but no one STANDS.


  29. Peter C says:

    TP, you need to change this graphic. You make it look like the bill passed 370 to 62. As far as I can see, only 14 Republicans voted for it while all but 7 Democrats did.

    The party of lock-step is still stepping.


  30. Zimzone says:

    Did America really expect anything different with a Texas Oil man?


  31. leftcoast says:

    Zimzone- that’s FAILED “Texas Oil Man”.


  32. tombaker says:

    TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

    yet the chamber of commerce righties will still rend their garments and declare it will bring civilization to a grinding halt.


  33. RUCerious says:

    Comment by tombaker — December 6, 2007 @ 4:43 pm

    I’ve got some ashes they can put on their heads, and extra sackcloth shirts for all!


  34. maxamillion says:

    White house wants to veto this bill hey?? Well I’ll tell you what my fellow Deomcrats, we nedd to throw out all the repub-lick-ans as possible in “08″


  35. Anjuna Laguna says:

    Pressure is mounting on the US to take a leading role in efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. As world climate change experts continute to discuss a new emissions reduction treaty in Bali, a Senate committee approved a plan to cut emissions in the US.

    The World from Berlin: ‘George W. Bush Is Isolated on Climate Protection’

    Bali Conference: US Seeks Alliance with China and India to Block Climate Protection


  36. 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda says:

    This is weak tea. You can get 45mpg with a Honda Civic manual transmission. You don’t even need a hybrid. If we had leaders with a vision they’d of mandated 50% electric cars by 2020. What this law calls for, in my mind, is a set-back.


  37. disdaniel says:

    I’m impressed that Pelosi got this through the House. For those who say this is too little, I say it is the most we’ve managed in 30+ years. Good work.

    Now lets see what Reid can manage in the Senate.

    Are there 10 Senate Republicans that are willing to back an energy bill that doesn’t give everthing to the fossil fuel interests and stick America with the bill?

    Oh yeah Ted Stevens will kick and scream that this bill will raise energy prices…hello? energy prices are ALREADY going through the roof! What he really objects to are the measures that have us using less energy in the future.


  38. RUCerious says:

    2Mil ~ Spot on. Not a peep about any R&D for hydrogen fuel either.
    What a bunt, when we were looking for a triple, or home run…


  39. GarrethD says:

    I know Bush is going to veto this bill and so does everyone else. But I’m upset at Pelosi for putting in the oil tax break clause, which would end tax breaks for oil companies. Not because I like oil companies, in fact I hate them, but rather because with that clause everyone knows it isn’t going to get passed. Pelosi made sure the bill doesn’t pass so it’ll become a political issue for the democrats. Instead of finding a compromise that would effectively work towards environmentacally friendly country. She decided to take the route of political division and sacrificed the environment for democrat advancement. I’m a lifelong democrat but stuff like this just boils the blood.


  40. 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda says:

    My energy plan would be:

    50% Electric Cars by 2020

    1 million windmills by 2010
    5 million by 2012
    10 million by 2020

    Tax breaks and subsidies for homeowners who install solar panels.

    30% of national energy from solar by 2020.
    50% by 2030.

    Geo-thermal energy investment.

    In total 50% of America’s total energy will be clean and renewable by 2030.

    And in the process create 10 million new jobs! It CAN be done with the right leadership.


  41. Jericho says:

    Energy independence?! Hahahaha, we can’t even be energy-efficient, let alone independent. Moreover, the smarter people have already learned that biofuels will only CAUSE EVEN MORE HUNGER on this already depraved planet so what’s the effin point?! Gaining some peace of mind for reducing emissions while at the same time starving more poor than ever? God, I love American ‘ethics’, somehow we always seem to pick the exact worst of all possibilities…. Let’s have Iran nuke us already, both us and the planet would no longer be in peril.


  42. Jason M. Hendler says:

    Don’t get too excited. The Senate usually strips out the most controversial elements of any bill, so this will be somewhat watered down before it gets to Pres. Bush.

    My hope is that the Senate addresses some of Bush’s concerns with the House bill, namely:

    States that do not have ready sources of renewable energy are being held to the same standard as those states that do, so hopefully there will either be state-by-state allowances, or federal funding to help those states that don’t.



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