Thursday, February 26, 2004

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Bush Cheney Energy Bill

Move On.org has sent out this notice, and are asking members to call their senators to encourage a filibuster:

Dear MoveOn member,

The Bush-Cheney energy bill is back, and it could come up for a vote at any oment. Republicans have signaled that they'll give as little as 24 hours' notice. We've got to get out ahead of it.

The energy bill is still terrible. Here's what it does:

1. Delays clean-up in smoggy cities, which would increase asthma attacks and other health problems, especially among children and elderly people.

2. Pollutes rivers and coastal waters by exempting oil and gas drilling from clean-up safeguards.

3. Allows energy companies to rip off consumers by repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act.

4. Includes billions in subsidies for big oil, nuclear, timber, and coal companies.

5. Increases air pollution and global warming with new incentives to burn coal for electricity without adequate pollution controls.

6. Threatens drinking water by allowing the underground injection of diesel fuel and other chemicals during oil and gas development.

7. Weakens environmental safeguards to pave the way for more oil and gas drilling on sensitive public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. At least sixteen national hunting and fishing organizations oppose these provisions.

8. Locks in American dependence on foreign oil by adding new roadblocks to better fuel economy.

9. Tramples on states' abilities to protect their coasts from harmful oil and gas exploration by weakening their input on federal coastal projects.

10. Promotes nuclear proliferation by reversing long-standing U.S. policy against reprocessing waste from commercial nuclear reactors, and using plutonium to generate commercial energy.