Patrick Leahy: “If one reads through this 1,100-page Energy bill, they can tell actually who the ghostwriters were: The oil, the gas…”

“If one reads through this 1,100-page Energy bill, they can tell actually who the ghostwriters were: The oil, the gas, the coal, and the ethanol industries that--surprise, surprise--are going to get almost $200 billion in tax subsidies from this bill. The voices of those ghostwriters echo throughout the bill. The cost to the taxpayers does not stop there. If taxpayers feel their wallets are getting lighter this week, it is because this bill will cost them another $70-plus billion in other subsidies over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, the 1,100 pages of this bill are full of special interest giveaways, but they are empty of innovative and sustainable energy policy, a policy that would ensure Americans a clean, reliable, and affordable policy in the future. It only increases our reliance on unsustainable petroleum-based energy sources. It undercuts recent progress in developing renewable energy sources and technologies that reduce pollution.”