Editor-in-Chief of Popular Mechanics magazine placed a great op-ed in the October 2008 issue: Why Offshore Drilling Can Bridge Gap to U.S. Energy Future.

“Where would a more sensible energy policy start? Pickens is on the right track with his plan to increase use of natural gas. And McCain's call to allow more offshore drilling would significantly increase production. Alternatives such as wind or solar look better by the day, and, indeed, every major energy plan stresses them. But, it will take decades for the alternative-energy infrastructure to match our needs. We must have those offshore oil and gas reserves to bridge the gap.”

Give it a read by clicking here.

As Republicans in the House have been saying, it's going to take an All-of-the-Above approach to solve this crisis. As we get ready for the Labor Day weekend, a time when Americans usually like to get in one last summer get-away, remember that these high prices we're paying for gasoline (and will soon be paying for heat), could be dramatically lower. If we increase our supply domestically while doing what we can to conserve, the prices will have no where to go but down.

I wish I could have posted about this earlier, but on Saturday, the Minnesota Republican Caucus unveiled their Declaration of Energy Independence at the Minnesota State Fair.

Freedom Dogs posted about it on Saturday, and I recommend you give it a read.

One of the most alarming statistics the Caucus points out in their release is the steep rise in heating bills Minnesotans will be faced with this winter.

Early predictions for home heating bills this winter give a potential look at the cost of inaction by Democrat leadership.  Recent news reports cite natural gas bills growing to average $1,400 this winter, up from $1,000 last winter.  Making matters worse, some customers on monthly budget plans still owe bills from last year’s exceptionally cold temperatures.  They can expect increases of up to 80 percent according to natural gas providers.

So if gas prices weren't high enough, here come your heating bills. Even T. Boone Pickins, the Democrats' favorite oil man, is in favor of a substantial increase in the production of natural gas. In fact, he'd like to eventually see all cars running on natural gas which is an admirable goal, but one that can't happen if the 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf is kept off-limits. Remember, this debate about drilling isn't only about oil but about natural gas to heat our homes and hopefully one day, fuel our cars.

I'm cautiously optimistic that when Congress reconvenes for its final three work weeks of the year, Speaker Pelosi will cast aside her partisanship and put forth a sensible and comprehensive energy plan. Yes to increased domestic drilling for oil and natural gas. Yes to investing in energy alternatives. And yes to conservation. However, all three legs of the stool must be be given equal consideration.

As if Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team didn't get enough time off with their August recess, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is advocating a four-day work week to help federal employees who are struggling with high gasoline costs.

Hoyer’s proposal may help his constituents – his district is largely Washington, D.C. suburbs home to many federal employees – but it does nothing for Minnesotans and Americans all over the nation.  While I'm not knocking the benefits of increased conservation, this gimmick isn't necessary when there are real legislative solutions like the American Energy Act that not only promotes conservation, but also focuses on lowering energy prices by increasing safe, domestic energy production and by encouraging the development of alternative and renewable energy sources and technologies. 

We need a real solution to this energy crisis for all Americans, not just a band-aid for some.

Newt Gingrich is featuring a new contest on his YouTube page that will make one talented movie producer a very lucky driver. Take a look.

The Minnesota Majority is circulating a petition urging your U.S. Representative and Senators to enact the American Energy Act (H.R. 6566) to "bring relief to American families and improve our energy and economic security."

I urge you to check out their site and sign. It's because of the pressure that Americans from around the country have been putting on Speaker Pelosi and her office that she is at least now considering a vote on increased energy production here in the U.S..

We must reduce our dependence on foreign oil and replace it with increased domestic production. It's smart national security policy and smart economic policy, reducing the costs of goods and services while creating jobs in the process. The American Energy Act offers the American people the ideal solution: increased domestic production, increased investment in renewable energies and technologies, and greater conservation. The problem is Speaker Pelosi won't allow it to come to a vote.

Minnesota's five Democrat Representatives voted with Speaker Pelosi to skip-town rather than take a vote on the American Energy Act.

Let's keep the pressure on Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats who are following her lock step.

Click here to sign the petition.

Today, I joined my fellow Republicans on the floor of the House to continue our call for Speaker Pelosi to return Congress to work to vote on comprehensive energy reform.



Congress has had more than enough opportunities to consider energy legislation to cut our nation’s rising gas prices.  But, instead of acting, Speaker Pelosi and Democrat leadership ignored the cries of the American people and went on vacation.

Yesterday, I met with Lake Elmo firefighters to talk about how the energy crisis is impacting their ability to serve as first responders. And speaking with drivers yesterday filling up their cars in Stillwater, it is clear that Minnesotans are frustrated with Congress’ inaction on this issue. The high cost of gasoline is destroying local budgets and family budgets alike.

How long do the American people have to struggle before Speaker Pelosi takes notice?



My Republican colleagues and I will continue to work in Congress and throughout August recess to see that families all across the nation get the help they need. Supporting the Republican solution for an All-of-the Above energy strategy is critical to help Minnesotans get back on their feet.

A couple of days late, but I wanted to get this Washington Post Editorial to all of you in case you missed it. It’s entitled, Snake Oil, and it debunks 3 myths about drilling that opponents are quick to offer as to why we should not be drilling for more oil here in the United States. While I don’t agree with some of it, especially their reservations about drilling in ANWR, the arguments they make to disprove these 3 myths are sound.

Myth 1: Drilling is pointless because the United States has only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves.
Myth 2: The oil companies aren't using the leases they already have.
Myth 3: Drilling is environmentally dangerous.

Read the article here.

Tomorrow I’ll be on the House floor taking part in the historic GOP revolt against the Democrats’ complete inaction on this energy crisis. Don’t bother to turn on C-SPAN to watch because Speaker Pelosi has made sure that the lights are off, the mikes are off, and the public can’t see or hear a thing.

Earlier this week on Larry King Live, Pelosi said she would consider a vote on some drilling if it were part of a larger energy package.  While Republicans are clearly making progress on a comprehensive energy strategy for the American people, more work still needs to be done.

Please call Speaker Pelosi at (202) 225-4965 and ask her to return the House to session NOW to consider serious energy legislation that not only pursues a greater investment in renewable energies and technologies, but also provides for increased domestic drilling in the OCS, the oil shale areas, and the 10-02 Area of ANWR. 

So much attention in this energy debate has been paid to the use of oil to fuel our cars and homes.  But oil has a lot of other uses in our daily lives. Tonight on the History channel's Modern Marvels, they will be airing a show entitled, Secrets of Oil.

Here's what the History Channel has for a teaser on their website:

"Rubber, Plastic, Nylon, Aerosols, Resins, Solvents, and Lubricants--none can exist without oil. If we stopped driving our cars tomorrow, America would still need five million barrels of oil a day. Visit Vulcan Materials, where oil tanks are emptied into massive double-barrel mixers to make asphalt and then continue to the Rolls Royce Aerospace Facility where complex jet fuels are blended. Travel back to the 1870's to see how an unemployed whale oil salesman turned a greasy oil-drilling by-product into a household staple: Vaseline. Finally discover how cutting-edge recycling techniques can breathe new life into used motor oil, and where a number of renewable fuels and technologies take aim at oil sovereignty."

Seems like an interesting twist to the same old debate about oil.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has made a pretty interesting case that those states with a forced employee/union system not only pay higher taxes than those states with Right to Work laws which protect employees from being fired for refusing to join or pay dues or fees to a union, but household incomes in Right to Work states are also higher.

This year, Americans celebrated their "Tax Freedom Day" on April 23. This is the day when Americans have earned enough money to cover their total federal, state, and local tax bill for the year, on average.

The Tax Foundation and U.S. Census Bureau data have found that in 2008, the average Tax Freedom Day in the 22 states with Right to Work laws was April 18, five days earlier than the national average. For the 28 non-Right to Work states as a group, their Tax Freedom Day came nine days later than the average in Right to Work states.



In addition to a higher tax burden, forced-union states’ cost of living is higher as well. Economist Barry Poulson from the University of Colorado figured that living costs average nearly 18% higher in metro areas in non-Right to Work states than in Right to Work states.

Why?

The National Right to Work Committee says that "where forced dues are legal, union officials use their power to disrupt labor markets, jack up costs, and bankroll regulation-happy, Tax-and-Spend state legislators and governors."

Hopefully the Minnesota state legislature will come to understand the benefits of a Right-to-Work state and come on board for the sake of all Minnesotans.

For more information on the report, click here.

Check out this video that Americans for Prosperity shot on Tuesday at a MoveOn.org protest on drilling.



I think it's more than a coincidence that many are sporting Obama gear.  I think we can all agree that less supply and more demand is not a workable solution. 

For those of you who don't know, Nancy Pelosi's book, Know Your Power, A Message to America's Daughters, reportedly sold 2,737 copies during its first week of sales. Now I'm not here to knock her for writing a book; in fact, I give her credit for undertaking such a task. The problem I have is with her promoting it when she should be not only working with Congress, but LEADING it to pass a substantive piece of energy legislation.

Explaining the book’s poor performance, a source close to her was quoted as saying:

"The speaker was pre-occupied with house business last week. She has now turned her focus to promoting this extraordinary book...doing local signings and speeches. I think we'll see an uptick."

WOW!

So, are we to take from that that before this summer recess she'd led Congress to accomplish so much, she now deserves time to promote her book to enhance sales??? Not only is the premise wrong – Congress has accomplished nothing – but the ensuing statement is, too.

Partisanship aside, I think we can all agree that Pelosi should get back to work in Washington to deal with our energy crisis.  Book sales are the last thing she should be concerned about. 

At least, we now see crystal clear the priorities of the Speaker of the House. No wonder she’s leading what is known as the "Do-Nothing Congress."

There's only so much you can say about Nancy Pelosi's failed leadership the past year and a half. But I think this visual sums it up best. Enjoy!

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The following letter was just delivered to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on behalf of the American people and the Republcan Conference requesting that she reconvene the House and allow a vote to provide relief to Americans suffering because of skyrocketing gas prices:

An Open Letter to Speaker Pelosi  

On Friday August 1, 2008, at 11:23 a.m., your Democrat majority in the House of Representatives adjourned the House for five full weeks.House Republicans believe that Congress should not go on vacation until we take action to lower gas and energy prices for struggling American families.

For the last two months we and our House Republican colleagues have used every tool at our disposal to try and get you and your Democrat majority to vote on legislation to lower gas and energy prices by expanding environmentally sound domestic production of oil and natural gas, improving energy efficiency, and encouraging the development of alternative energy technologies.

Many of the proposals we have asked you and your Democrat majority to allow us to vote on are bipartisan proposals that we believe would enjoy the support of a majority of the Members of the Congress. Yet because you and your Democrat Leadership personally oppose these proposals, you are not allowing them to come up for a vote. This past Sunday, you even told George Stephanopoulos that you will never allow this vote to occur (see transcript on the reverse).

In protest of you and your Democrat majority not allowing an up or down vote on producing more American energy, we and our House Republican colleagues were prepared to take to the floor on Friday, August 1, 2008, and speak to the nation. Rather than allowing that to happen you and your Democrat majority adjourned the House, turned off the television cameras, shut off the microphones and turned out the lights. Nearly 50 House Republicans remained on the floor of the House in defiance speaking to those citizens gathered in the galleries and to the media.

Today we have again returned to the Capitol to continue speaking to the thousands of Americans from all across our country who are visiting the Capitol. We would have preferred if instead we were joined by our colleagues to have a true debate on this issue that ended in an up or down vote. 

We think it is unconscionable that Congress has gone on vacation before we have addressed the high gas prices that are crippling our economy and hurting millions of families.  We are asking that you reconvene the House from your five-week vacation and schedule a vote on legislation to increase American energy production. Let us be clear, we are not asking for a guaranteed outcome, just the chance to vote.

Signed by: John Boehner, Republican Leader; Roy Blunt, Republican Whip; Adam Putnam, Republican Conference Chairman; Eric Cantor, Chief Deputy Whip; and Members of the House Republican Conference

STEPHANOPOULOS: … You've been getting a lot of heat on -- for not allowing a vote, a straight up-or-down vote on expanding drilling off the coasts of the United States. Why won't you permit a straight up- or-down vote?

PELOSI: … What these -- what our colleagues are talking about is something that won't have an effect for 10 years and it will be 2 cents at the time. If they want to present something as part of an energy package, we're talking about something. But to single shoot on something that won't work and mislead the American people as to thinking it's going to reduce the price at the pump, I'm just not going to be a party of it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Except that it's not just Republicans calling for this. Members of your own caucus say we must have a vote. Congressman Jason Altmire, let me show our viewers right now, is saying there's going to be a vote. Here he says exactly, there's going to be a vote. September 30th will not come and go without a vote on opening the outer continental shelf. The message has been delivered. The issue can't be ignored any longer. He says he speaks for a lot of Democrats. He's talked to the leadership, and a vote must happen.

PELOSI: Well, maybe it will, as it's part of a larger energy package.

Instead we're saying, free the oil. Use it, don't lose it. There's 68 million acres in lower 48 and 10 or 20 million more acres in Alaska, where they're permitted, where they could drill anytime. This is a diversionary tactic from a failed energy policy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But if you feel you have the better arguments, why not give a straight up-or-down vote for drilling?  

PELOSI: Because the misrepresentation has been made that this is going to reduce the price at the pump. This is, again, a decoy, it's not a solution.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, if you're right, why not let it be debated out and have the vote?

PELOSI: We have a debate every single day on this subject. What you saw in the Congress this week was the war dance of the hand maidens of the oil companies. That's what you saw on the Republican side of the aisle.

Democrats and Republicans are not right down party lines on this issue. There are regional concerns, as well as some people concerned about what this means back home for them.

But we have a planet to save. We have an economy to grow. And we can do that if we keep our balance in all of this and not just say but for drilling in unprotected and these protected areas offshore, we would have lower gas prices. …

STEPHANOPOULOS: But why not allow votes on all that? When you came in as speaker, you promised in your commitment book, A New Direction for America, let me show our viewers, you said that bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full, fair debate, consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right to offer its alternatives.

If they want to offer a drilling proposal, why can't they have a vote?

PELOSI: They'll have to use their imagination as to how they can get a vote, and they may get a vote. But I have tried, you know, we have serious policy issues in our country. The president of the United States has presented this but for this, our economy would be booming. But for this, gas would be cheaper at the pump.

It's simply not true. And even the president himself in his statement yesterday and before then has said there is no quick fix for this by drilling.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you will not permit a vote. You may get beat, but you're not going to permit a vote on your own?

PELOSI: Well, again, we take this one step at a time. But why we're spending all this time on a parliamentary tactic when nothing less is at stake than the planet, the air we breathe, our children breathe? We have...

 

-30-

While the Democrats rushed home for a month long recess, Republicans stuck around to talk energy...despite the lights and microphones being turned off. It's too bad the Democrats didn't think it worthwhile to work with us to pass some much needed energy legislation. The President can and should call the House back immediately so we can debate and vote on the legislation that has been offered to deal with rising energy costs. Pelosi may not agree with the solution's being proposed, but the American people at least deserve a vote.