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THE ROAD TO LOWER GAS PRICES |
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Written by Hal Rogers
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Thursday, 03 July 2008 |
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Guest Commentary by Hal Rogers High gas prices are crippling all Americans, but especially those of us who live in rural areas where we sometimes have to drive long distances to work. A recent New York Times (June 9, 2008) article indicates working families and seniors in our region are spending as much as 16% of their take home pay for gasoline. This makes for tough choices between a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas, or between filling a medical prescription and filling up the tank. I don1t believe it has to be that way. We can bring gas prices down.
My Republican colleagues and I have co-sponsored dozens of bills and signed several discharge petitions that would force Speaker Pelosi to bring a number of gas price reduction measures to the floor of the House of Representatives for an up or down vote. The Speaker has refused to give us a vote because of the extreme environmentalists in her San Francisco district and elsewhere. Folks in her wealthy, urban, liberal area may not be hurting, but mine are.
Our petitions call for a number of important energy initiatives a roadmap, if you will, to roll back gas prices. These include:
1. Drilling for known American oil - Congress needs to act to ease the stranglehold of foreign oil by opening up U.S. territories like the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic region of Alaska for drilling. We import 60 percent of our oil, but estimates show that 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil sit beneath the barren coastal plain of Alaska. With a lease of 2000 acres, about three times the footprint of Eastern Kentucky University, we could harness more than double the oil believed to be in all of Texas.
2. Build American refineries Because of the extreme environmentalist agenda, it has been more than 30 years since a new refinery was constructed on U.S. soil, even as demand has steadily increased. Meanwhile, imported gas is on the rise. Nearly 3 million gallons of refined products are imported into this country everyday. Opening up new refineries, reducing red-tape, and curbing costly regulations are long overdue to ease pressure at the pump.
3. Convert American Coal to Fuel - We need to tap the potential of coal as a transportation fuel. The U.S. Air Force spent nearly $6 billion on fuel last year, triple the amount spent just three years earlier. The agency is already experimenting with coal-to-liquids technology and clamoring for long-term, domestic resources. Development of coal-derived jet fuel makes not only economic sense for U.S. taxpayers, but it can offset our demand for petroleum.
Instead of debating these important initiatives, we1re stuck in park and Speaker Pelosi has all the keys. Last week, I wrote to the Speaker and pointed out that we in rural states had reached the tipping point and can no longer wait around for the next bus on fuel prices. I urge you to join me in contacting Speaker Pelosi, and demand she move Congress into overdrive. You can call her at 202-225-0100 or write her at H-232 U.S. Capitol, Washington DC 20515.
Southern and eastern Kentuckians expect Congress to act. It is high time the Speaker allows us to go ahead with known, proven answers to our high gas problems. |
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