This EXCITING NEWS on the ENERGY BILL just in, courtesy of the NGVC:
House Ways and Means Committee Chair BillThomas (R-CA) told committee members today that the tax portion to the energy bill would be starting from scratch. The Chairman indicated that he had asked House leaders to postpone their plans to move an energy bill until after the Congressional Easter recess at the end of March (March 21-April 1). The Chairman defended his decision to start from a clean slate as needed because there is less revenue available now than in the previous Congress.
The Senate lags even further behind the House in discussions about the energy bill since it has been widely assumed that the Senate would not act on an energy bill until the House acts. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) told reporters that he has trimmed last year's energy bill and its former $30 billion price tag to between $5 and $10 billion. It is unclear what the implications are of that reduction since many of the “cut” provisions were enacted in last year’s Jobs Act.
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