The House of Representatives narrowly passed an energy bill today which would cut some federal red tape which prevents the timely approval and subsequent construction of oil refineries. This is to address what many oil industry watchers say is a shortage of refining capacity, which, moreso than the crude oil supply, impacts heavily on gas prices at the pump. CBSNews.com and The Hill newspaper have write-ups on their respective websites. I did notice The Hill's take was more comprehensive and did mention that Democratic leaders cajoled three dissenters from the party line to vote no, whereas the CBSNews.com article seems to skew heavily towards liberal Republican dissenters who voiced concerns about relaxed environmental protections.
Additionally, while I don't have a transcript available at time of publication, a report a few minutes ago on Special Report with Brit Hume hinted that Republicans believed going into the vote that they had many more Democratic votes for the measure than they did. This might indicate that Democratic leadership strongly leaned on dissenting members.
It would be instructive to follow how the rest of the networks cover this story to see how comprehensive the legislative struggle is portrayed and how biased the coverage goes, particularly if Democrats and "moderate" Republicans are seen as defenders of the environment and House Republicans as shills for "Big Oil."
