Pumped Up Oil Pork

Shortly after taking office, President Bush outlined an energy policy he claimed would cost $6.7 billion.

The finished product --the energy bill headed for his desk -- costs nearly 10 times that much. The pork alone is more that twice what President Bush said the entire policy would cost.

Citizens Against Government Waste outlines some of that pork:

• $4 billion in loan guarantees for developing new energy technologies
• A study on technology that shuts down escalators until they're approached by passengers
• $2 billion for hydrogen fuel cell research -- even though auto makers are already developing hydrogen vehicles
• Doubling the amount of corn-derived ethanol added to America's gasoline

Meanwhile, the price of oil has risen from $22 a barrel to $60 a barrel on President Bush's watch. So not only are you paying more for an energy policy that benefits big oil -- you're paying big oil more at the pumps. Lucky you. (Review Journal -- Editorial)