Bishop blasts Demo energy bill

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, says quite different futures could be created by competing Republican and Democratic energy bills.

"Remember those sequels to 'Back to the Future' where there were two worlds? Our world is the one where the McFly family is happy. The Democratic version is the one where Biff runs everything" and the world is a wreck, he told a Capitol press conference on Thursday.

That came as the Western Congressional Caucus, which Bishop chairs, and the Republican Study Committee unveiled an energy bill to counter Democratic legislation that seeks to combat global warming by such things as capping current emission levels and having industry trade emission credits to try to reduce carbon dioxide.

Republicans describe their version as sort of an energy buffet, or an "all you can create" energy bill, that encourages everything from more oil exploration (including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf) to more conservation, more unconventional fuels and more carbon-capture research.

"Republicans provide a competing vision that emphasizes job growth, innovation, conservation, production and incentives to support true American ingenuity," Bishop said.

"Democrats," he added, "will take you down a road that will cost at least 3 million jobs, at the most conservative of estimates. Ours will create jobs — real jobs for real people."

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