House passes energy bill – momentous

16/08/2007

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who spent the last week personally lobbying Democrats who opposed parts of the bill called it a momentous decision on energy and global warming. The House also voted to repeal $16 billion in tax breaks given to the oil and gas industry shifting the money into programs to boost biofuels renewable energy and efficiency programs. The measure provides $3.5 billion to install E-85 pumps and expand production of cellulosic ethanol - a provision that could help the Bay Area which has emerged as a biofuels development hub with major research centers at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The vote was a victory for Democrats marking a U-turn from six years of Republican policies that mostly subsidized increased production of oil gas nuclear and coal energy.