Gingrich shows support for Republicans’ energy protest

Continuing their protest, the House Republicans held a press conference in Statuary Hall in the Capitol with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Congressman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) said Congress must come back from its five-week vacation and produce an up-or-down vote on the Republicans’ American Energy Act. He said the Republicans will continue their protest on the House floor without microphones and lights until they get their vote.

Gingrich said there are pro-energy Democrats as well as pro-Energy Republicans. He said that although Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will block any vote, he is confident that the bill will achieve a majority when Congress returns in early September. Congressman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said Democrats and Republicans can come together to make lasting pro-energy changes, but Speaker Pelosi must call back Congress, or at the very least schedule a vote on the first day Congress returns. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) called on Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to speak to Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about bringing back the Senate as well, as the push for pro-energy legislation should be a two-party effort.

After the press conference, at 11:00 a.m., Putnam and Foxx, among other representatives, retreated to the House floor to continue their protest. Representatives spoke in front of more than four hundred tourists in the chamber. Putnam said that every day the House is out of session is another day the U.S. is dependent on foreign energy. The crowds in the chamber gave a massive standing ovation when Foxx declared the United States “the greatest country in the world.”