U.S. energy bill dupes the public

What Congress is doing to America's long-term energy strategy isn't a crime -- but it should be. This is a stickup, plain and simple.

Like most muggings, this crude exercise is taking place out of public view, mostly in closed-door meetings between sessions held by Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). The duo's ostensible mandate is to develop legislation that would reduce dependence on foreign oil, promote conservation and fix gaps in the nation's electrical grid that appear to have caused this summer's crippling blackouts.

Instead, the work has degenerated into a lopsided orgy of unnecessary industry giveaways, rollbacks of environmental and consumer protections and predictably craven pork politics. It will cost taxpayers at least $20 billion over the next decade, an amount that will probably triple when it's all toted up.

That's why Domenici and Tauzin are keeping details of this perfidy well-hidden from Democrats and Republicans alike. Snippets of the bill that have dribbled out aren't pretty:

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/1003/28energy.html