Dole and Burr buddy up to Big Oil

Yesterday, June 22, our esteemed senators voted against HR 6, the energy bill that was up for a final vote in the Senate, having already been approved by the House. HR 6 does some very nice things that have been needed for a long, long time. It raises the national fuel standards for passenger vehicles 40% and closes the SUV loophole, promotes alternative energy sources, stiffens penalties for price gouging, and promotes ethanol and energy efficient technologies. The CAFE standards (cars's MPG) hadn't been adjusted since 1989, and now even communist China's cars have better overall fuel efficiency than the United States. If American auto makers follow these new standards and don't find a way to weasel out of them as they did in California in the 90's, then by 2020 our cars will be as efficient as China's are now.

Along the way to the final vote, Burr and Dole voted against rasing 29 billion dollars in taxes on the oil industry over 10 years to pay for clean energy promotion. The excuse is that it would hurt the industry and drive up prices at the pump. Of course our dynamic duo must have overlooked the fact that Exxon and friends made 101 billion dollars in profits in 2006.

You may be thinking - "I wonder if Dole and Burr got any donations from Big Oil in their last elections?". Well, yes they did. According to opensecrets.org Dole received over $120,000 in 2002 and Burr got over $220,000 in 2004. They were 11th and 8th respectively on a list of recipients of contributions from the oil industry.

A CBS/New York Times poll taken in April found that 92% of respondents favored higher fuel efficiency standards for cars made in the US (full poll results here ). As their votes reflect a total lack of respect for the views of the people and put the interests of an industry fat with profits ahead of the public interest, Dole and Burr should have some serious political consequences to face come election time. Too bad only Dole will be on the ballot next year.

Thanks for reading.

Mike