The good news is that U.S. Senate leaders have drafted a scaled-back energy bill: the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (S. 2095). The Senate bill would slash about $17 billion from the conference report, the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (H.R. 6), making the 10-year price tag for this package around $14 billion instead of $31.1 billion.

The bad news is that the new, leaner bill "achieves the same goals the old bill did."1 In other words, special interests would still receive substantial taxpayer subsidies--just not as quickly and as much--due in part to budget gimmicks that delay implementation of most of the provisions until later in 2004.2 

For example, large agribusinesses would still be enriched through an ethanol mandate; the coal industry would still receive over $2 billion in subsidies; and uneconomical renewable resources would still be given preferential tax treatment. ...