Today in Washington D. C. - June 9, 2008

On The Floor: The Senate will reconvene at 3:15 PM today and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the Democrats’ energy bill (S. 3044). A vote on cloture on the motion to proceed is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Also scheduled for tomorrow is a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to a bill extending certain tax breaks, but which also features some tax increases to pay for them (H.R. 6049).

From Senate & News Sources: After Republicans successfully made the argument last week that Democrats’ costly and ill-timed cap-and-trade legislation would increase gasoline and energy prices, Democrats this week plan to finally turn to their energy legislation. Unfortunately, just like with the cap-and-trade bill, the Democrat energy bill is full of poorly considered policies that will only serve to raise energy prices at the expense of American consumers and jobs.

The Republican Senate Communications Center makes the case that the Democrats’ move to their energy bill is simply political posturing since it has little chance of passage and is opposed by key Democrats, including the chairman of the Energy & Natural Resource Committee. The Wall Street Journal editorial page looks at Democrats’ failures on the climate bill, noting that it was “designed to raise energy prices.” And Fred Barnes discusses how Democrats’ detrimental policies and poor timing on energy and gas prices are handing Republicans an issue. Ed Morrissey also examines the lack of real solutions from Democrats on energy and notes economic analysts are urging more domestic production. Of course, it is Democrats who have repeatedly blocked legislation to increase the production of oil and natural gas in the US.

In other news, The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt looks at the claims being made by Senate Democrats about their new report on pre-war Iraq intelligence. He finds that almost all of the things they point to as faulty statements are actually “substantiated by intelligence information,” which is repeatedly stated in their own report.

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