The Senate finally wrapped up deliberations on the energy tax bill and took a vote. It passed – but without a lot of teeth in the earlier package.
The most significant gutting of the bill came from mostly GOP Senators who were not inclined to tax big oil companies – despite popular outcry against earlier tax breaks offered to big oil in a record-breaking profit year.
Democrats also lost in a bid to include a provision in the final version of the bill that would have required electric utilities to produce at least 15% of their electricity from renewable sources.
Senators did agree on a component of the bill that requires automakers to make a 40% increase in fuel efficiency by 2020 and subjects SUVs, vans and small trucks to the same regulations as passenger cars (they previously had lesser regulations). The fuel economy standard is significant since Congress hasn’t passed a federal auto fuel economy standard for more than 30 years. Not surprisingly, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) from one of the states most affected by the legislation – Michigan – opposed the provision.
