Energy bill vote delayed, CAFE back on the table

What did I tell ya? The great photo above is of Bush and Dingell from 2005 but it could have been two days ago. According to the Detroit News, the House has delayed the energy bill vote. As we reported, CAFE is largely settled and even Toyota has come out in support of the new agreement. Trouble is, John Dingell has a problem with it, and it's the same problem, it turns out, that the White House mentioned in a letter to Congress threatening to veto the bill again. So, do they just have to dot some i's and cross some t's on which agency will set CAFE? I doubt it because you see red herrings like this all the time in the polite debates in the Congress.

I would guess that once Bush put out the veto threat, Pelosi lost whatever votes she took from Dingell. When the rough draft of the bill is in Dingell's hands again, suddenly a change that was only going to be which agency will regulate, has 35 MPG crossed out and 27 put in its place. Will that happen? At this rate, we should find out by 2030 when the bill requires the change. It's also possible they pick an agency and the White House takes CAFE out of its letters to Congress. I doubt it because Dingell is like a ninja: if you see him, you are already dead.

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[Source: The Detroit News]

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