We’re back on energy issues, with the introduction of a bill to solve every last problem with one fell swoop. And we’ll all get a pony.

According to its statement of intent, H.R. 6529 would “greatly enhance the Nation’s environmental, energy, economic, and national security by terminating long-standing Federal prohibitions on the domestic production of abundant offshore supplies of oil and natural gas.” All that, all at once.

Last week, President Bush lifted an executive ban on producing oil from the Outer Continental Shelf. He encouraged Congress to lift its ban so that there could be more drilling.

Now, this much is true: If there were more drilling for oil, there would be more oil. When supply rises, prices tend to fall, or at least rise less quickly. There’s been talk, of course, that this wouldn’t happen quickly enough to get us any benefit. And lower prices would reduce pressure to move to other energy sources, meaning that we would continue to burn carbon-based fuel, with the environmental problems that carries.

But not with H.R. 6529. It would not just enhance, but “greatly enhance” all of our interests - environmental, energy, economic, and national security.

And wait a minute - national security? There’s a connection between oil and national security, of course. We need oil and other energy sources to maintain our military. BUT, the concern with high energy prices today is about driving our big cars for long distances, not about whether we’ll be able to muster tanks to fend off attacking Canadians. The national security dimension of oil is over-played, and over-played in this bill.

Its promise to fix everything with a snap of the fingers gets H.R. 6529 membership in the “. . . and a pony” club.

Here’s the current vote on the bill. Click to vote, comment, learn more, and edit the wiki article for the bill: