By Aaron Richardson-Talk Radio News Service

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) introduced the formation of the Sunset Caucus today. Rep Tom Price (R-Ga.), the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee described the Sunset Caucus as “A new inititive that will continue to bring sensibility to Washington spending.” The Sunset Caucus is made up of Republican House Representatives from across the U.S. including Kevin Brady (R-Texas) who is the co-chairman, and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va).

The members of the Sunset Caucus plan to review certain federal programs and end those deemed wasteful, inefficient, or dangerous. Goodlatte named one program he was anxious to cut.

“The visa lottery program was established in 1990 and awards approximately fifty-thousand permanent resident visas to foreign nationals each year. The State Department’s Inspector General has testified that this program poses a serious national security threat to the U.S,” said Goodlatte.

Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) spoke about against funds going towards the island nation of Palau.

“Our government pledged $200 million in development assistance to Palau. That comes to $12 million per individual detainee. That’s $200 million equals the annual college tuition for over 2,000 students,” Posey stated. “The new slogan for Palau will be: Come tan with the terrorists and pay low.”

For information about the RSC or the Sunset Caucus visit www.rsc.price.house.gov

By Michael Combier – Talk Radio News Service

New alternatives of energy needs to be found by the United States to be less dependent on oil and the dictate of political regimes in Venezuela, Russia or in the Middle East. Additionally, US economy will be hit less severely by rising oil prices if other energy options are provided to the population.

The Joint Economic Committee chaired by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) held a hearing this morning entitled “Oil and the Economy: The Impact of Rising Global Demand on the U.S. Recovery”. The hearing dealt with the impact of last year’s impact of oil prices on U.S. economy.

“Last year’s oil shock showed us that right now it takes a very large increase in gasoline prices to reduce our consumption of oil. Part of the reason is because many consumers have no alternatives to their gasoline powered cars”, Maloney said,adding that “in the long run, energy policies that increase alternatives to using a gas-fueled car – whether they are different modes of transportation or alternative fuels for cars – will help minimize the impact to the economy of a rise in the price of oil.”

To explore policy options and alternative energies, Dr. Daniel Yergin and Dr. James D. Hamilton were invited to testify. Yergin pointed out that “oil prices are among others a barometer of the world economy” while also adding that because the U.S. uses 46 million barrels of oil a day, the country can still face difficulties in four or five years when the economy will be totally recover and oil prices will rise to a level experienced in 2008.

The diversification of the country’s energy with wind mills, solar energy, nuclear and new efficient automobiles will protect the country in the future on high oil prices. By changing the country’s habit on oil and by focusing on domestic productions, “it will create jobs in the U.S. and activity here rather than revenues going to the treasury of other countries,” said Dr. Yergin.

House Republicans have felt the sting of Partisanship during the passing of the Economic Stimulus Package. Congressmen Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) speak about how they feel, the relationship between the House and President Obama, and the time frame involved in passing the legislation. Representative Chaffetz said that although Democrats won the election, he “was elected too”, and his constituents in Utah should have a stake in deciding on the package. (02:45)

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

 

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