One of the key issues that Congress will need to address when it returns in September is legislation to restrict energy production in the U.S. It’s not framed that way, of course. The legislation being considered is ostensibly supposed to help produce more energy, but that’s not the effect it will have. Among the myriad problems with the House bill for example, is that it allows anyone ‘harmed’ by global warming to bring suit against any federal agency that fails to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as required in the legislation. Plaintiffs are specifically authorized to recover $1.5 million, and to be compensated for legal fees win or lose, as long as the court determines it to be ‘appropriate.’ During debate on the legislation in the House, Congressman Darrel Issa described the provision like this:
The Heritage Foundation’s Ben Lieberman has written a short paper on the problems with the House and Senate energy legislation, and he manages to fill the paper with problems bigger than this–a sure indication of just how much harm these bills might do, if enacted.
