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Good news for supporters of American Energy Freedom Day. A report from Capitol Hill says that in an effort to sneak out of town quietly, Democrat leaders won't attempt to extend congressional bans on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Check out this article from The Hill:
Two parties that started September headed for a bitter clash that could have shut down the government are now preparing for a quiet departure as each tries to shift into campaign mode.
Democrats have given in to GOP demands to lift a decades-old ban on expanding offshore drilling, paving the way for must-pass legislation to keep the government running after Oct. 1.
Click here to read on.
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More photos from the American Energy Freedom Day Rally on Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol:
Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), David Vitter (R-La.) and Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined representatives from Americans for Prosperity, National Taxpayers Union and American for Tax Reform outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday afternoon to show their support American Energy Freedom Day coming up on Oct. 1, 2008.
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With 14 days to go until American Energy Freedom Day, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) joined a number of his GOP colleagues outside the U.S. Capitol today to call on Democrat leadership to allow the ban on accessing America's energy resources expire.
More photos to come.
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Earlier today on the Senate floor, Sen. DeMint discussed the importance of an amendment he would like to offer to the 2009 Defense Authorization bill and explained why earmarks contained therein should not be given the force of law.
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Currently, Section 1002 of the defense authorization bill has “incorporation language” that gives the force of law to all of the non-legislative earmarks written in committee reports, even though they are not actually written in the bill, not debated, not voted on, and not signed into law.
Senator DeMint’s amendment would strike Section 1002, and restore the effect of the President’s executive order to ensure all earmarks in committee reports are subjected to a competitive, merit-based review. This would allow agencies to continue funding worthy projects, while stopping wasteful earmarks and directing the tax dollars to real priorities.“This is an attempt to make law without actually writing law. The ‘incorporation language’ is a just gimmick to strong-arm taxpayers into paying for secret earmarks. Americans are fed up with wasteful spending rammed through in the dark of night. Senator DeMint’s amendment will ensure that all of these projects are subjected to a competitive, merit-based review before any of them are funded. Americans expect their taxes to be spent wisely or not spent at all.” – Wesley Denton, spokesman for Senator DeMint The "incorporation language" would likely lead to a veto because it is a direct violation of the President's Executive Order which specifically prohibits agencies funding secret, non-legislative earmarks in committee reports...
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Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill, Senators and House members will be joined by leaders of Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform and National Taxpayers Union to rally for Energy Freedom Day.
Here are the details of the event...
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FOX News reports that support for drilling in California will yield little return on oil if legislators insist drilling take place at least 100 miles from the coastline -- here's why:
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Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) has signed the letter to protect October 1 as American Energy Freedom Day, and to “actively oppose” any attempt to extend bans on offshore drilling and oil shale beyond their expiration at the end of September.
In his statement, Senator Corker said, "I support environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling and oil shale production as a bridge to the future while we invest in alternative energy technology. The reality is we cannot make the transition to alternatives overnight.”
To date, the following 39 Senators have signed the letter: Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), Wayne Allard (R-Colorado), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Kit Bond (R-Missouri), Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky), Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota), Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico), John Ensign (R-Nevada), Michael Enzi (R-Wyoming), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), Mel Martinez (R-Florida), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Pat Roberts (R-), Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), Richard Shelby(R-Alabama), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), John Sununu (R-New Hampshire), John Thune (R-South Dakota), David Vitter (R-Louisiana), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).
Text of the letter...
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We pause today, just as we have in the past six years since 9/11, to somberly reflect on the events of that bright, sunny September morning in 2001, when terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners. Two planes, American Flight 11 and United Flight 175, departed Boston’s Logan Airport and were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. After taking off from Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia, terrorists seized American Flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon. Shortly after take-off from Newark, terrorists killed the pilots of United Flight 93 and turned the plane toward Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Capitol as a likely target. Brave passengers fought back, rushing the cockpit and forcing the terrorists to crash the plane in the rural Pennsylvania town of Shanksville, thus saving possibly thousands more American lives and serving as a prominent symbol of American democracy.
For a nation enjoying the peace dividend resulting from the end of the Cold War, the attacks of September 11, 2001 were a shocking reminder that we live in a dangerous world. Adherents of an extremist ideology used civilian airliners to target American civilians of diverse race, ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. The terrorists sought nothing less than to destroy Americans and to irreparably harm the American spirit.
Fortunately, the terrorists badly misjudged the American spirit. In the days and months following the attacks, Americans came together in resolve that no extremist shall curb our freedom or undermine our liberty. Americans pitched in to rescue victims of the attacks and to help the recovery effort. That very dark day yielded to the shining brilliance of American compassion and our indomitable will.
Today, President Bush joined Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, survivors and family members of 9/11 victims in dedicating the Pentagon Memorial. President Bush said, “The day will come when most Americans have no living memory of the events of September the 11th. When they visit this memorial, they will learn that the 21st century began with a great struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror. They will learn that this generation of Americans met its duty -- we did not tire, we did not falter, and we did not fail.”
On this day of remembrance, I ask you to join me in praying for the survivors and the victims’ families to find peace. I also ask you to pray for the men and women who protect us from further attack.
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