Jack Kingston

Standing by his belief that nuclear energy must be on the table in the clean energy discussion, Jack offered this amendment to the Energy & Water Appropriations bill which would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to report to Congress on how to streamline the approval process for nuclear reactors.

The amendment was accepted by the chairman.  As we continue to work the issue, we’ll keep you udpated.

Congressman highlights impact of national energy tax on agriculture

WASHINGTON, DC – Following an announcement late last night that House Democrats have reached an agreement within their caucus to pass “Cap and Tax” legislation, Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) expressed grave concern over the legislation’s impact on agriculture.

Congressman Kingston, who serves in the top Republican spot on the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee, noted agriculture’s reliance on energy-related inputs.

“They’ve put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig even though the lipstick looks lovely,” Congressman Kingston said.  “Agriculture is inherently a energy-intensive industry and this bill does nothing to mitigate that fact.  From tractor fuel to fertilizer to livestock feed, farmers across America are especially vulnerable to this proposed national energy tax.  Our farmers are already struggling with the high cost of fertilizer and feed and gas prices are going up.  Now, in this time of economic downturn, is not the time to further drive up the cost of farming and the cost of food.  American farmers can’t afford it and neither can American families.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Jack spoke on the floor of the House regarding the Democrat’s dim energy agenda. As they prepare to institute a national energy tax, known as “Cap and Tax,” to combat global warming, they are shying away from the term and trying to rebrand it as global climate change. Jack, who rides his bike to work, noted that it was a balmy 49 degrees on his way to the Capitol this morning even though it’s the middle of May. He goes on to note that Democrats seek to exclude nuclear energy from America’s energy portfolio even though it’s safe enough for 4 in 5 households in France.

(Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News) 

At an event on River Street in Downtown Savannah yesterday, the city unveiled the nation’s first bio-diesel street car and several other new bio fuels own by the city.

The vehicles are fueled by bio-diesel created by a local company which collects used vegetable oil from restaurants on River Street and around Savannah.

To read the article, click here.  To learn more about Refuel Savannah, the company which processes the bio-diesel, click here.

The University of Georgia will partner with Georgia Power this year to power the annual Georgia-Georgia Tech game completely with renewable energy - a first for Sanford Stadium.

Once again, UGA and the State of Georgia are showing they’re ahead of the curve.  To learn more, click here.

Jack joined with many of his House Republican Colleagues in asking the President to use royalties from offshore and shale oil production to help offset any bailout of financial institutions.  Not only would this proposal help offset taxpayer liability, it would help bring down the price at the pump.  A copy of the letter can be found here: 9.24.08 Republican Letter to the President on Bailout

Victory! Victory!  That’s our cry!

Just a day after Jack and 150 of his House Republican colleagues issued a letter to the President calling on him to veto any funding measure that would continue the nation’s outdated moratorium on American energy, House Democrats gave in and removed the provision from the continuing resolution (CR).  While we’re not out of the woods yet, this is great news!

Stay tuned. The CR which is expected to pass today only funds the government through March 2009.  If this turns out to be empty campaign posturing, Democrats could reinstate the ban and continue to deprive Americans of American energy.

Jack today secured 151 signatures on a letter to President Bush urging him to veto any continuing resolution that contains an extension of the ban on offshore drilling.  From the release:

After failing to pass a single spending bill this year, congressional Democrats are forced this week to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government after the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2008.  To block efforts by Democratic leaders to continue the congressional ban on offshore drilling, Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) today sent a letter to the President asking him to veto any CR containing the moratorium.

“We have worked all year for a vote on this issue,” Congressman Kingston said, “and it’s a shame that the only way to have an open debate is through the CR.  If the Speaker opened the floor for a full debate, this would not be necessary.  In light of her refusal to do so, we’re ready to force a vote and give the American people the right to explore American energy.”

With 151 signatories, the letter exceeds the veto-sustaining threshold and would block attempts to sneak in a continuation of the moratorium through another fiscal year.  Though House Democrats forced through a watered down energy package earlier this year, its provisions would nearly cripple efforts to open up American energy resources.

To read the full release, click here.

Jack returned to Washington to take part in the historic floor protest launched by House Republicans to call on Speaker Pelosi to reconvene Congress for a vote on legislation that would lower gas prices and allow America to realize her energy independence.

While the protest is in its seventeenth day, Jack has been unable to travel due to doctor’s orders after having back surgery in early August.  Back on his feet, Jack carried to Washington the stories of hard working Georgians who are suffering under high gas prices.

To view Jack in today’s press conference, click below:

The nation’s largest trade association for the trucking industry is planning to endorse an energy proposal Jack cosponsored.  According to the release:

If enacted, The National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act would enhance the United States’ path toward energy independence and security by increasing the production of domestic energy sources as well as dedicating funds to renewable energy research and development. 

The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history. For most motor carriers, fuel has surpassed labor as their largest expense. It currently costs $1,400 to fill a typical tractor trailer’s fuel tanks.  Fuel cost increases ultimately increase the cost of everything delivered by truck.

To read the release, click here.

A report released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that American consumption of oil dropped by 800,000 barrells per day (bbl/d) yet worlwide consumption grew by 500,000 bbl/d.  Why?  Developing nations are using more - 1.3 million bbl/d more.

If we want to reduce prices here in the states, we cannot rely alone on conservation efforts and we definitely can’t rely on the do-nothing position of Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid.  We’ve got to increase our domestic supply if we’re going to bring down the price at the pump.

In order to achieve our energy independence and bring American control to American energy prices, we’ve got to move forward with a three-part strategy of conservation of existing resources, exploration of American energy, and innovation in new vehicle and alternative fuel production.

To read today’s report, click here.

The Politico is reporting that House Democrat leaders are finally having a conference call to figure out what to do about America’s energy crisis:

“Party leaders in the House are expected to convene a conference call on Wednesday to discuss their options in the ongoing energy debate, including a potential compromise measure that could include some expanded permitting for oil and gas exploration, a leadership aide said Tuesday.

But the details remain very hazy, Democratic insiders suggest, because leaders have not settled on an exact course of action and may wait until lawmakers return to Washington next month before finalizing a legislative package.” (Full story here)

You read that right, Speaker Pelosi isn’t sure what she’s going to do.  Unlike most Americans who’ve been struggling with high gas prices for quite a while, Speaker Pelosi can rely on taxpayers to fund her travel expenses.  House Republicans, on the other hand, have been demanding action on energy while Pelosi felt it was more important to name post offices, congratulate football players, and push through paybacks to big labor.

Infact, it’s been three years since Jack offered a bipartisan solution to our energy crisis.  Back in 2005, he teamed up with Democrat Eliot Engel of New York to promote conservation, alternative energy production, and research in new vehicle technologies.  That bill, The DRIVE Act has yet to see action.

Three years later, we haven’t given up the fight and neither have House Republicans who refuse to be shut down and continue their call to action on the House floor.  Even as Speaker Pelosi has shut down the lights and cameras, House Republicans refuse to be silenced.  Although their efforts cannot be broadcasted, Americans from across the nation have been welcomed to the floor of the people’s house and Republican Leader John Boehner’s office is live blogging the efforts here.

To learn more about what Jack’s doing on energy prices click here.  If you haven’t done so already, take his energy survey by clicking here.

To visit the House Republican Conference’s energy website, click below:

Today’s Washington Post editorial debunks three myths circulated by the anti-energy independence crowd.

While the paper is not known to be a friend to conservatives, it comes to the same conclusion House Republicans are debating on the House floor today: 

“[T]he United States can no longer afford to turn its back on finding all the sources of fuel necessary to maintain its economy and its standard of living…”

The three myths debunked by the Post are:

• Drilling is pointless because the United States has only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves. This is a misleading because it refers only to known oil reserves. According to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), while there are an estimated 18 billion barrels of oil in the off-limits portions of the OCS, those estimates were made using old data from now-outdated seismic equipment. In the case of the Atlantic Ocean, the data were collected before Congress imposed a moratorium on offshore drilling in 1981. In 1987, the MMS estimated that there were 9 billion barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. By 2006, after major advances in seismic technology and deepwater drilling techniques, the MMS resource estimate for that area had ballooned to 45 billion barrels. In short, there could be much more oil under the sea than previously known. The demand for energy is going up, not down. And for a long time, even as alternative sources of energy are developed, more oil will be needed.

• The oil companies aren’t using the leases they already have. According to the MMS, there were 7,457 active leases as of June 8. Of those, only 1,877 were classified as “producing.” As we pointed out in a previous editorial, the five leases that have made up the Shell Perdido project off Galveston since 1996 are not classified as producing. Only when it starts pumping the equivalent of an estimated 130,000 barrels of oil a day at the end of the decade will it be deemed “active.” Since 1996, Shell has paid rent on the leases; filed and had approved numerous reports with the MMS, including an environmentally sensitive resource development plan and an oil spill recovery plan that is subject to unannounced practice runs by the MMS; drilled several wells to explore the area at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars; and started constructing the necessary infrastructure to bring the oil to market. The notion that oil companies are just sitting on oil leases is a myth. With oil prices still above $100 a barrel, that charge never made sense.

• Drilling is environmentally dangerous. Opposition to offshore drilling goes back to 1969, when 80,000 barrels of oil from an offshore oil well blowout washed up on the beaches of Santa Barbara. In 1971, the Interior Department instituted a host of reporting requirements (such as the resource development and oil spill recovery plans mentioned above) and stringent safety measures. Chief among them is a requirement for each well to have an automatic shut-off valve beneath the ocean floor that can also be operated manually. According to the MMS, between 1993 and 2007, there were 651 spills of all sizes at OCS facilities (in federal waters three miles or more offshore) that released 47,800 barrels of oil. With 7.5 billion barrels of oil produced in that time, that equates to 1 barrel of oil spilled per 156,900 barrels produced. That’s not to minimize the danger. But no form of energy is perfect or without trade-offs. Besides, if it is acceptable to drill in the Caspian Sea and in developing countries such as Nigeria where environmental concerns are equally important, it’s hard to explain why the United States should rule out drilling off its own coasts.

To read the full article, click here.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why Speaker Pelosi doesn’t care to even have a vote on domestic energy production?  It’s the top priority of Americans all over our nation yet our third-highest ranking public official refuses to even allow a vote.  Seems strange, eh?

It’s all put into perspective when you think about how she travels.  Let’s flashback to February of last year when it was revealed that Speaker Pelosi couldn’t settle for the same aircraft that carried her predecessor (Jack’s blog post here).  No, that’s just not good enough for her.  Instead, she needed a C-32 which boasts the same size and frame as a Boeing 757-200.  Though it’s capable of carrying 300 people, Pelosi’s plane has been modified to accomodate just 42 business class seats, it’s also got a wood paneled state room, big screen televisions, a full sized bed and a crew of 16 some of whom are uniformed stewards who will bring you something to eat or drink (that’s right, it’s got an open bar) upon request.

How much does that cost?  An estimated $15,000 an hour and up to $300,000 each time she takes a trip to her San Francisco mansion.  Per chance, would you care to guess who pays for that?  THE SAME PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO PAY FOR $4.00/GALLON GAS!

Pelosi Air Service

But when she’s not crusing the skies, she’s obviously in one of those energy efficient vehicles she touts as the only way to get us out of the current energy crisis, right?  WRONG!  She’s riding around in an Chevy Suburban.  Not that there’s anything wrong with those but take one guess who’s paying for it - you got it YOU. 

Pelosi Car Service

Speaker Pelosi’s not doing anything about gas prices because she doesn’t have to face the struggle every most Americans endure to make ends meet as the economy continues to slug and gas prices continue to rise.

So while hard working Americans are struggling to make ends meet and House Republicans continue our protest (DAY 7) for Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to act, what’s the Speaker of the House doing that’s so important?  Promoting her new book.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?

For more information on what Jack’s doing about gas prices, click here.  For more information on House Republicans and our refusal to stand down until Pelosi allows a vote, click here.