There is no bigger shoot-self-in-foot government law than the one restricting the export of oil and gas. From both the economic and national security perspectives, letting the free-market be free just makes a lot of sense.
A bill to ope -up exports passed the House. It remains to be seen what the Senate does.
The energy bill almost got bogged down in the House because of a boondoggle added to the legislation. The Senate version of the bill is starting to look like a candy store on steroids.
After looking at the Senate proposal, energy analyst Nick Loris wrote “a few good provisions do not outweigh the abundance of bad policies that waste taxpayer dollars, restrict energy choice, and fund corporate welfare.” What the Congress needs, he argues, is a bill that does not perpetuate “the status quo of government picking winners and losers and catering to special interests.”
In a new study, Loris analyzes the bill, highlighting what in it is good and what is not.
If Congress can’t get its act together, it may be up to the next president to lead the charge for free-market energy—let’s hope he is up to it.
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