This Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi again promised to use all her power to prevent the House from voting on any measure that would allow new oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf. A majority of Americans support new oil exploration in these regions. Pelosi has tried to prevent the House from even debating whether or not to increase domestic energy production, but this past Friday a small group of conservatives took over the House floor after Democrats voted to go on a five-week paid …
Today the House voted 213-194 (with 24 abstaining) in favor of adjourning for a five-week August recess. Lawmakers chose to take a paid vacation instead of voting to address the energy crisis that has stalled American motorists and is doing its best to cripple the economy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have not allowed a vote in Congress on ways to solve the energy problem. Pelosi claims she is trying to “save the world” by not allowing a vote for it. So, with the vote to adjourn, …
Killing two birds with one stone; Barack Obama has it all figured out. To compensate for the high costs of gas and energy prices and revamp the struggling economy, presidential nominee Barack Obama conjured up a plan to give $500 to individuals and $1000 to families as soon as this fall. Speaking in Florida he said, “This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months. Or, if you live in a state where it gets very cold in …
We’re willing to bet that no member of Congress is a regular reader of The Energy Journal, though perhaps some of them should be. It’s an academic journal on energy economics. But maybe leaders on Capitol Hill should start with something The Energy Journal decided not to publish: a paper finding that current prices for oil are influenced by expectations of future production. That’s actually a topic Congress is debating right now. In response to $4 per gallon gasoline, many Republicans want to allow more exploration and drilling for oil …
The steep rise in gas prices has had a dramatic impact on American driving habits. According to Federal Highway Administration data, this May marked the seventh consecutive month that Americans drove fewer miles this year than the year before. Americans drove almost 10 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than they did in May 2007. That 3.7% drop in miles driven means less gas tax revenue for the federal Highway Trust Fund, which Transportation Secretary Mary Peters says is expected fall $3.1 billion short of its fiscal 2009 budget. As …
Forget voting to lift a ban on offshore drilling; House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t having any of it. In fact, she won’t even let an offshore drilling debate hit the House floor. When asked why she was so adamantly opposed to offshore drilling she responded, “What the president would like to do is to have validation for his failed policy.” Is there any justification as to why it shouldn’t be debated? Currently 85% of the outer continental shelf is off-limits, and it holds an abundant amount of resources that …
Last week Nobel Laureate and climate change fanatic Al Gore called for a man-on-the-moon effort to reduce carbon dioxide to curb global warming. He proposed to have 100 % of our nation’s energy coming from renewable, carbon-free energy sources in only a decade. Likening his efforts to that of President JFK, he said: When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely in 10 years, many people doubted we could accomplish that goal.” Gore, claiming that the history of …
Congressman John Boehner of Ohio is set to introduce The American Energy Act, which will most importantly increase America’s energy supplies. The bill calls for leasing regulations for offshore natural gas by 2010, removing restrictions for outer continental shelf drilling, and opening up sections of ANWR for drilling. As The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Policy Analyst Ben Lieberman has been arguing this even when gas prices were around $1 a gallon. More energy supplies, not more taxes and regulations, are what this country needs. It’s economics 101: expanding supply is the …
Extreme heat waves, increased hurricanes, disease and death were the crux of the message the EPA delivered when it released its report on climate change and health yesterday. It seems to be another case of highlighting the Armageddon dangers albeit these are the least plausible. This comes only a week after the EPA released its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would allow the EPA to regulate lawnmowers, boats, hotels, restaurants and a number of other buildings. A similar warning was given by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change …
Bob gets up for work and promptly leaves his apartment complex at 8:00 a.m. It’s an important day for Bob; he’s flying to Chicago to take an important client out to dinner. But as he’s leaving, he notices a handful of men inspecting his apartment complex. Puzzled and a bit concerned, he moves in for a closer look: It’s the Environmental Protection Agency. Shrugging it off, he stops by work to pick up his briefcase and notices more EPA officials trolling around his office building. Not wanting to miss his …
