The collapse of Enron generated a flurry of speculation about Texas Senator Phil Gramm's political loyalties, owing to his wife's position on Enron's board and Enron's extensive contributions to Gramm's campaigns. Whatever Gramm's motivations are, shame doesn't seem to be among them.
As Senate Republicans accused Democrats of obstructing the energy bill last week, Gramm quietly blocked an amendment introduced by California Democrat Dianne Feinstein that would have strengthened regulations on energy derivatives trading. Translation: it would have closed the loophole that allowed Enron to hide wholesale prices from buyers and control markets.
The measure, which consumer groups called the first "Enron test," flunked. It was denied cloture, thanks to Gramm, by a vote of 50-to-48. His move, moreover, attracted almost no attention in the press.
Public Citizen released a highly critical report in December on Gramm's activities, and now organization activists accuse Gramm of blatantly continuing to bat for Enronomics.
"Just because Enron is bankrupt doesn't mean the party's over for these energy traders. The regulatory framework that allowed Enron to do what it did is still intact," said Tyson Slocum, a senior researcher with Public Citizen. "This is a modest attempt at regaining accountability over our electricity markets, and the Senate couldn't even muster the votes. The fact that Phil Gramm played a key role in blocking these reforms illustrates that Enron's legacy is still strong in the U.S. Congress."
Feinstein is searching for a different vehicle for her amendment, and may reintroduce similar legislation in hopes that she and Gramm can come to some agreement.
Be that as it may, it looks as though this time Gramm -- whose office did not return a call for comment -- bet he could single-handedly topple anti-Enron legislation without anyone pointing fingers. And it looks like he was right. That's the real shame.