The Energy and Commerce Committee is working overtime to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act by Friday. The obstructionist tactics by Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and his opposition allies are meant to run the clock so it won't be finished by the Memorial Day goal. 

While Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) have been working since January to pass this clean energy bill, the opposition has refused to come to the table and negotiate. Instead, Rep. Barton and others in the opposition are stalling with more than 400 unproductive and time-consuming amendments that they know won't go anywhere, such as one yesterday from Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) that required the cost of the legislation to be printed on everything short of a baby's forehead. David Doniger, Policy Director for NRDC's Climate Center, writes more about these tactics in his blog. 

Congressman Barton and his cohorts are standing in the way of progress that is widely supported by Americans, will spur investment in clean energy from the wind and sun, and will reduce our dependence on dirty and expensive fuels.

Reps. Waxman and Markey have made the process as open as possible, holding more than ten hearings on the legislation. According to a letter Chairman Waxman sent to Congressman Barton, over the past two Congresses the Committee has held more than 40 days of hearings on energy and global warming policy, at which more than 300 witnesses testified - 130 of them this year alone.

Despite the many opportunities for Congressman Barton to weigh in, shape the bill, and represent the interests if his constituents, he is doing nothing but delaying the process. Either the opposition is out of ideas, which is why they are running the clock, or they are unwilling to work with their colleagues to compromise. 

Either way, these tactics are harmful to the Congressional process and are holding back the solutions that America needs to move to a clean energy future. Leaders on the Committee have been doing real work for months, so it's time for Barton and co. to stop stalling and get working.