D-Day on Energy Bill--Pelosi Leads March Toward Victory

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rallying her troops and getting ready to pass the best energy legislation this country may have ever seen.  She is showing extraordinary leadership by producing an amazing, comprehensive energy bill.

She is putting the pedal to the metal by invoking emergency rules procedures allowing them to go to the Rules Committee, get a rule, and bring up the bill itself on the same day.

Looks like it'll be a real barnburner tonight in Congress, but one I'm more than willing to burn a little midnight oil to see through.

UPDATE: Here's what Majority Leader Reid said this morning on the Senate floor in a bit of a colloquy with the Minority Leader before they moved on to a fight about the AMT and appropriations.  (Just a reminder, it's the Republican minority that blocked a formal conference.)

“Because we couldn’t go to conference we’re now going to get a bill that they [the House] have done.  I can’t control Speaker Pelosi – she’s a strong independent woman who runs the House with an iron hand.”

Comments

[jim kehoe]

The Pelosi & Pickens Profit Plan With Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE)
Posted By Tate Dwinnell | Subscribe in a reader
Nancy Pelosi is quite a busy woman these days. Juggling the House Speaker role, a new book, chair of the Democratic Convention. Now she's "trying to save the planet" by sparring with Republicans over offshore drilling issues. Are Pelosi action figures next?

While saving the planet, it appears Pelosi will also line her own pockets if in fact the Pickens Plan comes to fruition. Dontgomovement.com is reporting that Pelosi is a shareholder in Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) and purchased between $50K - $100K in shares on May 25th that could well be worth 3x that now and millions more if she's successful in helping get California's Proposition 10 (known as the California Renewable Energy & Clean Alternative Fuel Act) passed. The bill would spend 5 billion in California bond money to promote natural gas as a cleaner alternative fuel and is backed by none other than Clean Energy Fuels and co Seattle Supersonics Thief himself, Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon (a large producer of .. natural gas)

I'm certainly all for alternative fuels particularly wind and solar, but have had my own doubts about the natural gas portion of Pickens Plan. Add the Pelosi relationship and the water rights issues into the mix and what you have is one big plan.. the Pickens & Pelosi Profits Plan.

After the bell today, Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) reported EPS and revenue a bit better than expectations, but still reported a sizable loss of .12/share excluding special items. The stock is up about 2% after hours.