“Senator McCain (R-Ariz.) is not going to help solve this energy crisis, because frankly he helped create it”, said Federico Peña, who served as both the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Energy under President Clinton. Peña spoke on a conference call to discuss McCain’s energy strategy, calling it “more of the same”.

Peña went on to say, “[McCain] blamed our dependence on foreign oil on the inaction of politicians in Washington, but he’s been there for the past 26 years and he did very little.” He also said that McCain has talked endlessly about drilling in the protected parts of our country like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), despite reports from the Bush administration’s energy department that have shown drilling there would only reduce oil costs to Americans by a few cents. In addition, Peña said the energy department estimated that the small decrease in price would not come about at all until the year 2030.

Peña also attacked McCain’s plan for energy independence by saying that any reduction in price caused by increased production from the United States would be met with OPEC nations reducing their levels of production of oil to keep prices high. As such, he advocates investing in renewable sources of energy that are not subject to price fluctuations determined by foreign governments.

“Hearing [Nancy Pelosi's] name and ‘president’ in the same sentence makes me sick!” exclaimed Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) today on the floor of the House of Representatives. He and his fellow Republicans continued their speeches protesting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision to call the Congress into recess.

“This is an ineffective Congress, I’m embarrassed to say”, said Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.). He went on to describe legislation passed so far in the 110th Congress, including a bill creating “National Passport Month” and another designating “National Plumbing Industry Week”. However, it is common for every session of Congress to pass these pieces of symbolic legislation. He said he advocated a diversified energy solution that utilizes both renewable sources of energy and allowing expanded oil drilling in coastal regions and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In a recent interview with CNN, Speaker Pelosi said that she would be open to holding a vote on energy reform that would expand drilling.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) said that during Hurricane Katrina, no oil spills occurred. He went on to say that this is a testament to the safety of these oil rigs for the environment. Pitts also said that if more oil refineries were built within the US, which hasn’t happened in over 30 years, hundreds of thousands of new jobs could be created.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) said that since the construction of the Alaska Pipeline, the state’s caribou population has tripled despite environmental reports warning of harm to the animals. He credits the pipeline with keeping the caribou warm during extremely cold weather, thus contributing to the resurgence of the population.

House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) blames Democrats for preventing America from reducing its dependence on foreign oil. He says that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and exploring offshore resources would greatly reduce how much oil the US imports. (:37)

 

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“Democrats in the House and Senate have stood in the way of more American made energy” said House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). “That’s why almost 70% of our oil that we use everyday has to be imported.” Boehner and other top Republicans spoke at a press conference today to accept a petition from American Solutions signed by 1.3 million Americans. The petition calls on congress to take action now to lower gas prices. (more…)

The energy policies of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were discussed at a conference hosted by the National Journal. In addition, panelists discussed their views of the political climate for legislative action in the coming congress. (more…)