This is the eighth in a series of posts on the Contract From America’s ten-point agenda. Read previous posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

The eighth item in the “Contract From America” (including the level of support it received in a voting process) is:

8. Pass an “All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy

Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation, lowering prices and creating competition and jobs. (55.51%)

There’s a little tension between this item and agenda item 1, which seeks to push the federal government back within its constitutional limits. It’s a stretch to think that the Framers of the Constitution saw energy policy as a proper federal role.

But Congress seems to have something to say about most forms of energy. Our subject pages are a good way to break it down. You can see bills listed on many topics by clicking the following links: coal, energy prices, energy research, nuclear power, and pipelines.

Many more topics have been covered in earlier Congresses. In the last Congress, a couple of bills even dealt with peat. (None so far this Congress.) Check out all the energy topics, and click on the appropriate links to see bills in past Congresses when there’s nothing in the current one.

Two bills that continue to get a lot of attention are S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act and H.R. 2998, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

They’re not what the Contract has in mind, though. They’re focused on reducing greenhouse gasses, not on increasing energy availability and consumption—and they have significant costs: over $10,000 per U.S. family.

We’ve written many posts about energy issues. Check ‘em out.

In the meantime, here’s the current voting on S. 1733 and H.R. 2998. Click to vote, comment, learn more, or edit the wiki articles about the bills.