The $787 billion stimulus plan was rammed through both houses of Congress without giving members of Congress an opportunity to review and debate the 1,071 page bill. In an editorial for Human Events, our own Senator David Vitter and Utah’s Representative Rob Bishop set forth a reasonable plan for a “No-Cost Stimulus Act”, which they have introduced into Congress. They seek to open up more lands and give the United States the ability to increase oil and gas production:

Our stimulus bill would streamline the environmental and judicial review requirements that slow the gears of progress in achieving our energy independence and creating new energy-related jobs. This specific provision was the top suggestion of the Congressional Budget Office in their letter to much ballyhooed “gang of 16” that talked quite a bit about comprehensive energy reform during last summer’s energy crunch but substantively did very little.

This plan may not go anywhere, but it is good to see that someone recognizes that a substantive stimulus plan should be based upon sound economics rather than political posturing.