Dems Plan To Come Out Hard Against Big Oil

by Steve

AP photo

As Bush retreats to Crawford today, dog in hand, to dash the heightened expectations that he will do something different in Iraq, there is music to the ears on another subject:

House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy to the cash-rich, high-profile business.

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Details of a renewable fuels fund have yet to be worked out. Nonetheless, it's one of the initiatives the House will take up during its first 100 hours in session in January, according to aides to Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi. At least some of the money — revenue gained by rolling back some tax breaks — will go to a program to support research into making ethanol from sources other than corn.

"What we'll do is roll back the subsidies to Big Oil and use the resources to invest in a reserve for research in alternative energy," Pelosi, a California Democrat, recently told reporters.

If Democrats can frame these efforts as a way to avoid future wars for oil, it will put the GOP on the defensive in a big way.