Keep the faith, Rep. Waxman

As promised, Congress is once again getting the ball rolling on federal energy legislation. So far GOP-backed energy bills have tanked*, but it looks like now the friends of the fossil fuel industry are banking on gains in the Senate to get their expensive and polluting wish list passed. An energy bill passed through the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday, and committee chair Joe Barton (R-TX) is shooting for a final House vote next week.

Eep. Nonetheless, it's always inspiring to see House Democrats--some of the most beleaguered people in Washington--do the best they can with the tools they've got. For example, Henry Waxman (D-CA) offered an (unsuccessful) amendment to the bill which would have required the government to figure out how to cut U.S. oil demand by 1 million barrels a day by 2013. (Reuters)

*Well, "tanked" is perhaps too strong a word. But we got the job done.