Tom Manion, Already Out Of Energy

Well, as I live and breathe, it turns out that Patrick Murphy’s opponent for the PA U.S. House 8th District seat has something to say after all.

This takes you to today’s Guest Opinion that appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times written by Repug Tom Manion, and though I disagree with most of what he has to say ( I’ll get to that shortly), I would like to give him some small credit for not employing the snippy, whiny tactics of our former U.S. House Rep Mikey Fitzpatrick; one example is not referring to our current rep as “Pat” Murphy or some idiotic derivation, which is always a clue that an onset of freeper nonsense is coming. As I said, I disagree with Manion, but I believe he represents himself here in a professional manner.

Also, I apologize in advance for the repetition of this post; I know I’ve covered a good deal of this before. I’ll try to avoid too much redundancy if I can...

Today, the uniquely American spirit of entrepreneurship can find solutions to our energy demands. Innovative technologies need research and development support and non-oil options like solar, wind and nuclear power require more work.

Absolutely right. The problem, though, is that the “Roadblock Republicans” in Congress have blocked S. 3335, a bill that would have extended the investment tax credits for installing solar energy and the production tax credits for building wind turbines and other energy-efficiency systems, EIGHT TIMES!!

And the last attempt to pass this bill died on July 30th, and John W. McBush didn’t even bother to show up for the vote, as Tom Friedman of the New York Times notes here today.

On July 23, House Republicans sent a similar plan, “The American Energy Act,” for a vote; unfortunately, the legislation was blocked by Patrick Murphy and other House Democrats.

Actually, according to this link in which someone named Stuart Varney interviewed House Minority Leader John Boehner (pronounced “bo-ner”) over “The American Energy Act,” it sounds like this legislation was unveiled on July 23rd (“taking the wraps off” is a bit of a tipoff), but Boehner called for an up-and-down vote right away.

Hate to break the news to you, Rep. Let-Me-Get-Away-With-Threatening-Violence-Against-Speaker-Nancy-Pelosi (here), but there’s a reason why you guys are the MINORITY party now. Let’s read over this thing and talk about it before we rush into anything, OK? And besides, the price of gas will go up or down independent of it anyway.

Also, the so-called “Gang of 10” in the Senate is trying to break the logjam, as noted here.

Manion also tells us…

While we seek these new energy sources and conserve our precious energy, Congress must assist the process by expanding exploration opportunities in oil-rich domestic regions. I will sponsor legislation for exploration of domestic natural gas and oil production in areas currently denied by Congress. Domestic drilling will decrease our dependence on oil from foreign countries that don't like us very much.

OK, but here’s the reality on offshore drilling (and we really aren’t going to find out how “oil-rich” they are until after we’ve starting digging holes all over the place)…

Even if states let drilling proceed, it would take years before new oil would flow.

First, drillers would need to clear regulatory hurdles and overcome environmental concerns.

Even if permission were granted, oil companies would have to find it worthwhile economically to drill; that's probably not a problem if prices stay high, but could be questionable if they fall again, as they did in the 1980s and '90s.

If companies found significant amounts of oil, some question whether this country has enough refining capacity to handle the new supply. The nation has slightly fewer refineries than it did in the mid-1980s.

…

Opponents fear environmental damage, especially to beaches that are essential parts of coastal-state economies and cultures. The key reason for a federal moratorium, Pope said, is that "one state could jeopardize beaches in neighboring states with risky offshore drilling."

A spill off the Virginia coast, for instance, "would impact beaches, marine life and tourism in New Jersey."

The Rainforest Action Network notes that even without a spill, a single oil rig can dump more than 99,000 tons of drilling fluid and metal cuttings into the ocean.

Also, Manion discusses the use of horizontal versus vertical drilling for oil. As noted here, though there could be less of a need for surface pipelines and less finding and operating costs, here are the drawbacks…

- It incurs higher cost as opposed to a vertical well.
- Only one zone could be drilled at a time, as opposed to multiple zones with vertical wells.
- There is currently only a 65 percent rate of success in drilling with horizontal wells, though this could increase over time if this technique is used more often.

Besides, I liked the ideas discussed by Patrick Murphy here much better (and I'm in somewhat of a more conciliatory mood than I was when I originally posted on this)…

In the short term, I have moved to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR is an emergency petroleum storage facility and is currently 97 percent full — its highest level ever. It has more than enough oil to meet our emergency national security needs. This approach has been successful in the past and would put another 70,000 barrels of oil back on the market every day. Estimates show this move could save consumers up to 24 cents per gallon of gas within a very short period of time.

I have also advocated a paid-for federal gas tax holiday which could save an additional 18 cents per gallon and does not borrow from the Highway Trust Fund. To counter big oil companies from pocketing these savings, I have also backed legislation that stops price gouging and artificial increases.

Additionally, I have cosponsored the Small Business Investment and Promotion Act which will cut taxes for small business fuel purchases, and increase the tax deduction on fuel for small business owners and independent contractors who use their own vehicles for work.

Also, I’ve been looking for a way to introduce this Guest Opinion by Harris Martin on some of the oil futures trading that, I think, has an impact also, though, with respect, I think Harris is trying to foresee market forces at work here that no one else can; I’d love to agree with everything he says, but I have reservations (I believe most of what I see on CSPAN also, but not everything). Also, here and here are prior related posts, if you want another look.

Still, though, I give Manion a bit of credit for articulating the problem (with some anti-Dem spin, I’ll admit) in somewhat of an inspirational manner. He talks a good game, but the problem is that his political party in Washington has thwarted all of his rosy scenarios.

Fortunately for us, though, Patrick remains hard at work on this and other matters, and to reward good behavior, click here.

Update 8/14/08: More from the reality-based community...