With oil prices nearing $100 a barrel and gas prices rising, it’s clear to Congress that something must be done about America’s energy policy. But it’s not so clear what needs to be done. Currently both the House and the Senate have approved energy bills that encourage alternative and renewable fuels. However, the Senate bill also includes an increase in auto fuel efficiency, which the House omits. The House bill includes wind and solar for electricity in the mix. Most controversially, the House bill repeals $16 billion in tax breaks that were granted to the oil and gas industry as a response to record prices and supply shortages in 2005.
 
The tax breaks were directed toward refiners and intended to increase refinery capacity and oil supply. However, as prices continue to rise and the industry announces record profits, it’s difficult for the average American (or Congressperson) to believe that oil companies really need tax incentives.
 
But it’s a short-term view that insists high gas prices now mean the oil industry isn’t in trouble. For Congress to decide what ought to be done, it’s necessary first to understand the reasons behind today’s high oil prices. Are they, as author Daniel Yergin believes, driven mostly by “what happens above ground: international affairs, politics, investment, and technology”? Or are current prices a result, as energy investor Matt Simmons says, of geological factors leading to an inevitable downward slide of oil supply? If the first, then refinery capacity is one of the main factors in current prices, and increasing capacity—even at the price of tax breaks for the industry—will bring some relief to hard-hit motorists. But if the second, then tax breaks won’t have a long-term difference on prices, and that money would be better spent on developing renewable infrastructures and technologies as quickly as possible.
 
Either way, there are a few things everyone can agree on. Whether for economic, environmental, or security reasons, we need to get off foreign oil. We need to develop a renewable energy portfolio. And we’d like to not have to pay such high prices for energy. At current oil prices, more alternative technologies are becoming economically feasible. Whichever bill Congress passes, it’s important that that we stop investing in old fossil fuel infrastructures and start building the future of energy: clean, renewable, alternative technologies.