Bush Energy Effort Running Out of Steam

W A S H I N G T O N, July 20 -- As the Bush administration continues the hard sell for a plan to overhaul the nation's energy policy, momentum for passing one of its top priorities is running out of gas and isn't likely to become law this year.

While traveling the country to sell the plan, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have generated bad press for their ties to the oil industry, as well as for Cheney's efforts to get the Navy to pick up the tab for energy bills at his official residence.

Outside Washington, prices of gasoline and natural gas continue to decline and once-strapped California reportedly now has so much electricity that the state government is selling its surplus to a glutted market.

"They were quick to declare a crisis that wasn't real. We have some long-term policy challenges but there is no energy crisis," said Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "I just think the ingredients are not there for doing anything substantial."

Bush Concedes Tough Sell

Nevertheless, the vice president and several Cabinet members held five events Monday in politically important states like Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, touting the president's energy plan. That same day, Bush himself conceded it could be difficult to persuade voters that the the situation is urgent.

"Anytime there's not an immediate problem that's apparent to people, it's tough to convince people to think long term," the president said.

The following day, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee voted to transfer the estimated $186,000 in annual electricity bills at the vice president's mansion to the Navy's budget. With Cheney's approval, the move was requested by the White House, which cited the "fluctuating and unpredictable nature of utility costs and the relative small annual appropriation," for the mansion's operations. The administration maintains the transfer was in the works under the previous administration.

Democrats objected to the provision, saying it would unjustifiably insulate the vice president's office from the rising cost of electricity while all other Americans shoulder soaring bills, but they failed to defeat it on a party-line vote of 33-29.