A few days ago I cited a Houston Chronicle article about the federal tax deduction for the purchase of huge, gas-guzzling SUVs. The last line of that story was

Warning of "a move afoot in Congress," Bob Trinz, a senior tax analyst at RIA, advises in a news release, "Now may be the time to act if you're interested in the convenience, versatility and tax breaks that heavy SUVs offer."

An ABC story I saw at roughly the same time also ended on that note: Yes, this absurd loophole is in the tax code now but, well, gosh, surely reason will prevail and the damnfool thing will be repealed any day now.

Er, no.

This is from Reuters/FindLaw:

Republican leaders on Monday killed a Senate plan to close a loophole allowing small-business owners to deduct up to $100,000 from their taxable income for buying a luxury sport utility vehicle.

Language eliminating the SUV loophole was inserted into the Senate's version of a broad energy bill, which also has $23.4 billion in tax breaks for oil, natural gas, coal and other energy sources.

But the provision was dropped after House negotiators rejected the Senate's change.

Republican leaders swiftly moved to ensure no mention of the loophole was included in the final version of the energy bill, which is expected to go to the full House and Senate for votes later this week.

I love that "swiftly moved" part: "Quick! Restore that wasteful, embarrassing tax break that does absolutely no social good! No, not five minutes from now! Right now, before someone develops a conscience!"

(Thanks to Skimble for spotting this. Go here if you'd like an explanation of the loophole and the reason it came into being.)