Bad Deals In Congress

Republican Leaders Reach Deal On Medicare

The House passed its Medicare bill by just one vote in June, partly because it contained several provisions that are popular with GOP conservatives but now have been altered in the agreement. The Senate's vote was more bipartisan, but Democrats have been denouncing the shape the agreement has assumed in recent days, and 44 senators -- including seven Republicans -- have signed a new letter of protest.

Huge Energy Bill, Huge Tax Cuts, No Impact on Any Energy Problems

The legislation's most far-reaching feature may be the repeal of the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act, which limits utility industry mergers. The act's repeal is a top priority for the electric power industry and the Bush administration, and if the bill passes, a wave of mergers and acquisitions could follow.

Whether that would result in needed investments in the power infrastructure, as most Republican lawmakers predict, or the creation of bigger, more dominant energy firms and higher energy prices, as many Democrats fear, is another issue in dispute.