Energy Bill Passes House

(NEWSER) - Al Gore and Newt Gingrich both appeared on Capitol Hill today, arguing for and against Democratic legislation that would shape US policy on energy and the environment, MSNBC reports. Gore said the legislation, which would mandate a sweeping changeover to a green economy in the next 50 years, “has the moral significance equivalent to that of the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.” More»

Auto industry pushed White House to sway him, sources say

(NEWSER) - The EPA chief—under heavy pressure from the auto industry—rejected his own staff's advice in denying California’s request to set its own fuel economy standards, the Los Angeles Times reports. Stephen Johnson told the state that it’s request was unnecessary in the wake of the new energy bill and didn’t meet legal standards. But sources say his staff reached the opposite conclusion and was overruled. More»

Lawmakers agree to measure upping mileage 40% by 2020

(NEWSER) - Lawmakers have hammered out a deal to force US automakers to improve fuel efficiency, the New York Times reports. The measure requires cars and SUVs to get 35mpg on average by 2020, an improvement of 40%. It is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law as part of a larger energy bill by the end of the year, the Detroit Free Press notes. More»

Pass the energy bill as a first step

(NEWSER) - Unleash the "energy revolution," writes David Brooks today, making his pitch for the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham bill. It's imperfect, but an essential start. "Energy innovation is the railroad legislation of today," he argues, and if the US wants to remain the world's "pre-eminent nation," it needs a fundamental overhaul of how it thinks and invests. More»

Making 2010 a referendum on prez won't work for Dems

(NEWSER) - Karl Rove is flattered that President Obama appears to be borrowing the strategy he devised for President Bush in the 2002 midterm elections, but he warns it won't work for the Democrats next year. Making the midterms a referendum on the White House worked in 2002 because national security was the most important issue for voters, and because Bush had a solid record of bipartisan achievement and sound leadership behind him, Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. More»