As Labor Day weekend passes, it is clear that this has not been the summer North Carolinians had planned on. Too many families have been forced to cancel their vacations and trim their budgets in order to compensate for the sting of high gas prices.

While the high price of gasoline is the major issue on the minds of most Americans, another prevalent topic of discussion is healthcare. Americans have traditionally enjoyed the best, most accessible, patient-centered health care in the world and I am fighting to see that tradition continue.

America's discussion of energy policy is dominated by sky-high gas prices, and rightly so. But in this discussion the national security implications of high energy costs often go unmentioned. Exploding gas prices not only take an ever-larger bite out of average American's budgets, but also pose a threat to our nation's security in a global energy marketplace. The time has come for an American declaration of energy independence.

"Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives," founding father John Adams wrote in 1808. This past Memorial Day we paused to remember those who truly took the words of President Adams to heart. For Adams' exhortation to his fellow patriots rings most true in the lives of those who have fallen defending the freedoms we cherish.

Over the past 15 months gas prices in North Carolina have steadily risen, and as I write this the price of gas has risen above $3.50. That's up more than $1.30 since early 2007. Many hard-working North Carolinians with bills to pay are cutting back in other areas as the cost of filling up spirals higher and higher.

If you are a North Carolina taxpayer you probably just filed your taxes or will submit your return to the IRS any day now. What you might not know is that for most North Carolinians, federal taxes will skyrocket over the next five years if nothing is done to stop the planned increase.