Americans are fed up with high energy prices – with good reason. They have been victimized by a Do-Nothing-About-Energy Congress. Speaker Pelosi and her mob have been running Congress like the old, lawless Western frontier, where the Leader makes up her own rules and flaunts her position in the face of Americans.

As House inaction continues, a bi-partisan group of 10 senators has been meeting to discuss energy legislation. However, their proposal falls far short of utilizing all of America’s energy resources. Congressman Culberson, along with his Republican House colleagues, signed a letter to the so-called “Gang of 10” outlining the shortcomings of the Senate proposal. The letter urges the senators to consider an “all of the above” bill rather than a “some of the above” compromise.

According to Senator John Thune’s website, a co-founder of the “Gang of 10,” the bill focuses on transitioning America to alternative fuels for transportation and only adopts a targeted approach to domestic energy development. The Senate’s proposal maintains the ban on offshore drilling, with a small exception for areas in the Gulf of Mexico and permits only the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia to opt in to a leasing program. The proposal even creates a new “no drill zone” within 50 miles of the coast in areas where drilling would be permitted, permanently taking off-line some of the most promising areas for production.

This is unacceptable. The ban prevents Americans from accessing oil rich regions like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Without access to the resources in these regions, our country will continue to be dependent on oil from despotic foreign regimes like Venezuela and Iran.

It is reckless to think that America can dramatically reduce its dependence on foreign oil overnight, or even in the next decade. Today, only 7 percent of our energy production comes from renewable sources because they are intermittent and capital-intensive. Conservation and investments in new technology are important, but any comprehensive energy bill must include domestic exploration.

Congressman Culberson is a co-sponsor of H.R. 6566, the American Energy Act. This bill is an “all of the above” approach that will increase American-made energy in an environmentally-responsible manner, improve energy conservation and efficiency, and promote renewable and alternative technologies.

The Gang of 10 was formed by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Additional members include Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).