Abstract
There has been renewed interest in apparently discrepant energy budgets suggested by consideration of the observed ionizing continua in combination with certain broad emission-line measurements for active galactic nuclei. This discussion reviews the history for the worrisome dilemma, and the evolving situation is reexamined in light of the most recent observations along with improvements in our understanding of various contributing factors. The problem is not as serious as was once believed, although there are still some indications that observed continua, extrapolated to far ultraviolet wavelengths, are energetically insufficient to cause photoionization as necessary to account for all of the broad emission lines seen in the spectra of quasars and Seyfert galaxies. Several potential ramifications or resolutions of remaining inconsistencies are considered here.
