The Prelude to Cheney’s Katrina

[JohnWxy]

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/prelude_cheney_katrina.html


Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s National Energy Policy Task Force concluded in May 2001 that “advanced, more energy efficient drilling and production methods: reduce emissions; practically eliminate spills from offshore platforms; and enhance worker safety, lower risk of blowouts, and provide better protection of groundwater resources.” At that time, with two oilmen in the White House and two more Texans leading an emboldened Republican majority in the House of Representatives, Big Oil had an unprecedented opportunity to set U.S. energy policy.

Big Oil did not miss the opportunity. A deeper look at the energy legislation based on Cheney’s secret energy task force underscores how the unabashedly pro-oil policies and permissive regulatory environment created during the Bush administration set the stage for Cheney’s Katrina—the BP oil catastrophe.

Big Oil-backed Republicans move quickly
The House Republican leadership had extensive ties to Big Oil. Former Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX), the majority leader from 1995 to 2003, received more money from oil and gas interests than he received from any other industry during his nearly two decades in Congress. The oil industry was also the biggest backer of former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), who represented a Houston-area district and served first as majority whip and then majority leader following Armey’s retirement.

After Cheney’s secret energy task force released its National Energy Policy Report in May 2001, House Republicans almost immediately tried to enact much of it into law. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Bill Tauzin (R-LA), another favorite of Big Oil who received nearly $600,000 in campaign cash from the industry, had a bill on the House floor within two and a half months. The so-called SAFE Act revealed exactly what Cheney and his allies meant by a “decent regard” for the environment.

(MORE)