A Feel-Good Vote

From the AP H.R. 3893:

The House voted to encourage U.S. oil companies to build new refineries Friday in a raucous roll call that Republican leaders extended 40 minutes while they buttonholed their own members to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
...
Supporters of the measure said that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made clear that the country needed more refineries, including new ones outside of the Gulf region. No new refinery has been built since 1976, although large refineries have been expanded to meet growing demand.

Critics of the legislation argued a cash-rich industry with huge profits over the past year shouldn't need government help to build refineries. They said the bill would allow the oil industry to avoid environmental regulations and would lead to dirtier air.

Nice. forty-minutes over. After 6p on Friday so it misses the weekly news cycle. Oh yeah. Can you feel that?

I believe Exxon-Mobil made a profit of $7.86B in the second quarter, BP did $4.95B. That's B for BILLION in a fucking quarter.