The Energy Bill: It Could Have Been Worse

From Peter Van Doren and Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute:

With Congress returning home for its summer recess, analysts are taking stock of the 1,724-page energy bill legislators passed last week on their way out the door. The press seems to be of the opinion that the bill did too little to address fundamental energy problems. That's an observation worth celebrating, not jeering. Past Congressional attempts to address "fundamental energy problems" resulted in an array of price controls, fuel-use restrictions, ambitious crash energy projects, and anti-profit regulation. The fact that Congress ignored such approaches this time around -- even in the face of higher energy prices -- is worth a few moments of grateful reflection.