2007 U.S. energy bill: update

A modified version of the energy bill (which I talked about briefly earlier) has passed the Senate (but must pass the House to become law!) - you can read about it here.

One provision that I thought was interesting, to say the least:

Price Gouging: Makes it a federal crime to charge an "unconscionably excessive" price for oil products — including gasoline. Also gives the federal government new authority to investigate possible manipulation of the oil market. Oil companies and the Bush administration strongly oppose this provision, which has prompted a veto threat from President Bush.

So basically, Bush might veto this whole thing, and throw away all this progress, because he doesn't think it should be illegal for oil companies to charge excessive prices on gasoline. Wow.