A continuation of the first part below, admittedly delayed with thanks to moving from DC to Philly and then back to North Carolina, and moving into an apartment that had to be furnished (i.e. was not a sublet complete with half-broken furniture). Turning 21 was a much better rite of passage to adulthood.

TITLE II--CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY
Subtitle C--Home and Business Tax Incentives
This basically extends a bunch of tax credits for energy efficient appliances (Sec. 221); nonbusiness energy property--whatever that is (Sec. 222); residential energy efficient property (Sec. 223); new energy efficient homes (Sec. 224); and energy efficient commercial buildings (Sec. 225). I personally would like to see a tax credit for energy efficient pets. I would then nominate my rats (yes, rats) Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky (yes, Hillary and Monica).

Truly my favorite part is Sec. 25e, ominously titled "Home Energy Audits." Basically if you get your home audited for its energy efficiency, you get 50% of it as a tax credit--as long as it's under $400. This gives the Secretary of Energy the power to (1) create regulations to explain what a qualified energy audit is and (2) create regulations to determine who is qualified to perform a qualified energy audit. Who said we weren't creating jobs in America?

My Thoughts
Any time there's a tax credit I like it. But this just smacks in general of creating additional bureaucracy and red tape. Qualified energy audits? Qualified energy auditors? It's all the by-produt of a behavior modification scheme: Congress has decided people should be more energy efficient, but it doesn't want to mandate it, so it will create lots of hoops. With shiny prizes. The hoops are the audits; the shiny prizes are your dollars that remain in your pocket.

Subtitle D--Refinery Permit Process Schedule
So I think the goal is to make sure refineries get permits faster because government red tape ties things up, which shouldn't be a surprise for anyone who's ever applied for a passport.

This means that the EPA will fork over money to hire "additional personnel...with expertise in fields relevant to the consideration of Federal refinery authorizations" at the state level. But, even better, the president will appoint a "Federal coordinator" (Sec. 234.a.1) and, just in case other bureaucrats got any ideas, by law they "shall cooperate with the Federal coordinator" (Sec. 234.a.2).

And the new refinery permit process schedule looks like this.

By thirty days -- The Federal coordinator calls a meeting with "representatives from all Federal and State agencies responsible for a Federal refinery authorization." Sweet. I bet it won't take long at all to get all those schedules coordinated (Sec. 234.b.1).

By ninety days -- The Federal coordinator and everyone else at the meeting writes a memo. That memo will "[set] forth the most expeditious coordinated schedule possible" (Sec. 234.b.2). Fifteen days after the memo's down, the Federal coordinator has to publish it in the Federal Register (Sec. 234.b.2.B). At this point, I do not want the Federal coordinator's job.

Oh, and apparently closed military bases are good for refineries. So within ninety days of Congress making this law, the president has to designate at least three "closed military installations" as "potentially suitable for the construction of a refinery" (Sec 235.a). I'm scratching my head too.

My Thoughts
I really cannot comment on the technical issues here. (I do not claim to be any expert on refinery facilities; I don't even pretend to be able to solve calculus problems anymore.) But I think this is, from an academic viewpoint, a study of what happens when you put the government in charge or something. One, you get lots of bureaucracy and red tape and meetings and memoranda that must be published. Two, you get to witness the amusement of our fellow citizens (for those are the people we put in Congress--not demi-gods) crafting rules for subjects with which they may not be terribly familiar. I'd love to ask my Congressman his stance on refinery permit processing.

According to the latest on Twitter, the House Republicans asked in a press conference for President Bush to call Congress for a special session. (Sweet job perk.) This follows up on public outcry to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office that asks for her to reconvene the House and, y'know, ask politicians to do their jobs rather than hang out on vacation. Which many of us can't afford thanks to high gas prices. That Democrats want to do nothing about. In other words: same old, same old.

Why is this important?

Democrats consistently blocked energy legislation from coming to the House. Pelosi admitted that she didn't want a Republican energy plan (involving offshore drilling) coming up for a vote. Why? She's saving the planet. Also, it's her gavel and she ain't giving it away until you pry it from her cold, lifeless fingers.

Guess what, Nancy? That isn't in your job description!

It would be one thing for Democrats--and Nancy Pelosi--to oppose offshore drilling (or any energy legislation!) on its merits. It is quite another for Nancy to decide what will and won't be law, and what will and won't be considered, just because she can do it procedurally.

Paying a lot for gas makes me mad, but listening to one person ask as though she gets to decide the national agenda makes me furious. So even if you don't agree with Republicans on policy, you should agree with them on principle.

This is government by and for the people, not a dog and pony show led up by Nancy Pelosi.