Energy Bill Debate Confirms A Lawyer-Democrat Alliance.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)

Byline: DOUG BANDOW

Congress is back in session, so Americans' lives and liberty again are at risk. Among the most divisive issues is the pork-laden energy bill, which failed in the face of a Democratic filibuster backed by a handful of Republican fiscal conservatives.

Although GOP opponents worried about unnecessary spending, Democrats focused on one of legislation's few worthwhile provisions -- limiting legal liability for producers of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE.

Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who pushed for even more lavish subsidies for already heavily subsidized ethanol producers, offered to deliver the necessary Democratic votes for passage if the MTBE limit was removed. But then there would be even less of value in the bill.

MTBE is a fuel additive used for gasoline. Its sales took off after 1990, when Congress mandated the use of oxygenates to reduce smog. Ironically, legislators thought they were providing yet another preference for ethanol, one of the most economically pampered interests in Washington. But MTBE proved to be the superior product.

Exaggerated Risk

Unfortunately, gasoline containing MTBE has leaked from some defective underground storage tanks and contaminated the water supply. Yet most concerns seem overblown.