Repeating past energy mistakes
September 9, 2008| By David Talbot
The high cost of energy, driven in part by artificially limited supply, is of concern to many Americans and continues to drive debates in Washington and on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, a leading bipartisan proposal on energy prices doesn't do anything to solve the problem, Heritage experts report.
Heritage's Ben Lieberman explains that the proposal from the so-called Gang of Ten just repeats old failures.
It "continues in the tradition of past energy bill failures by neglecting to include very much new energy. The offshore provisions provide little new oil and natural gas and fall well short of what should be done, while the rest of the bill offers federal micromanagement of energy markets and tax increases likely to do more harm than good."
The bill also addresses nuclear energy. But there, too, Jack Spencer and Nick Loris report, the "proposals need improvement." They suggest that "the government should focus on ways to reduce risk associated with the past and provide the proper oversight while allowing the private sector to rebuild the industry and develop solutions for the future."
Congress should stop wasting its energy on red-tape, command-and-control energy policies.
