The Hill is reporting that Lindsey Graham and his gang of wimps have folded… For now anyway.
A bipartisan group of senators who sought a compromise in the rancorous energy debate won’t introduce their bill before lawmakers adjourn for the elections, several Senate aides said Thursday.
Instead, the so-called Gang of 20 will offer a statement of principals outlining their agreement on a host of divisive issues, including expanded offshore drilling. They plan to offer legislation once the political season has ended, according to an aide to a Democrat involved in the discussions. The aide said that the election-year environment has poisoned the atmosphere and hampered the chances of passing a bill on such a controversial campaign topic.
I guess we can breathe a sigh of relief that their sham energy bill won’t be coming up for a vote before the November elections. The bill would have imposed higher taxes on oil companies and limited new drilling to select areas while cementing the current temporary drill ban into statute for the rest of the country.
I’ve said this before and it bears repeating: Like it or not oil is the life blood of our economy and its high time we faced that reality and started to exploit our domestic oil and natural gas reserves.
Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin