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During April, I had the opportunity to host Town Hall meetings and meet with Oklahoman's across Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District. During these meetings we had the chance to discuss many issues on both the national and local level including immigration, federal spending, Medicare and the economy. One of the issues I heard the most about was the rising cost of gasoline. Gas prices are putting an unbearable strain on working families and on families with fixed incomes--and something must be done. Although there may not be an instant fix to this problem, I would like to share with you some ideas that Congress will be debating over the months ahead to keep energy prices down.
One of the biggest factors of unstable energy prices is our dependence on foreign oil. Increasing domestic production is essential to our long term energy policy. One option we will be discussing is the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). Allowing energy production in Alaska could provide America with at least an additional million barrels per day. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is not the only answer; I believe we must also look into opening federal lands for exploration and allowing energy production off our shorelines.
The House will also be discussing other options in the weeks ahead to help keep energy prices down. We will be discussing legislation to prevent price gouging, such as implementing federal civil penalties and improving standards and enforcement mechanisms. In the meantime if you notice any examples of price gouging you can report it at http://gaswatch.energy.gov/ . Another idea we will be discussing is limiting boutique fuels. Environmental extremists have lobbied for too many types of fuel blends, as a result, costs have gone up for consumers. Other possibilities to help with gas prices are limiting deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during summer months and exploring alternative sources of energy including hydrogen initiatives. Finding alternate sources of energy is a key part of any energy plan, nuclear power is an option that should be explored.
I have introduced legislation that will give incentives to businesses and individuals to purchase small wind turbines. This legislation will help make small wind turbines more affordable by promoting mass production of the equipment. Small wind systems, if available at the right price, could be part of the solution to curbing energy prices. Unfortunately, wind energy has met opposition from some liberal Senators. For example, in Massachusetts, a project called Cape Wind planned to install 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod. It is estimated that these turbines could generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes around the area. Local U.S. Senators have opposed this idea because of environmental concerns and the possibility it would hurt tourism. This practice of saying "no" to every new idea must stop, if we plan to make any real progress on controlling energy prices.
There has already been some progress on the energy front in recent years. In July of 2005, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Energy Policy Act which implements a comprehensive national energy policy, boosting U.S. energy supply, lowering demand and fostering greater conservation and efficiency. This policy will prove to be a vital part of our long term solution to rising energy prices. Also last year, the House passed the Gasoline for America's Security Act (H.R. 3893). This legislation encourages the opening of new refineries, promotes conservation and requires the FTC to study credit card company processing fees, which inflate consumer costs. Unfortunately, this legislation was stalled in the Senate.
I know the prices at the pump can be very frustrating, especially during the summer and the height of travel season. It is time to get creative and work together to find plausible solutions to the rising prices of energy. I will continue to work to implement short term and long term solutions to control the price of energy. If you have any questions regarding energy policies or other legislation, please send me an email at http://www.house.gov/cole or call my office at 202-225-6165. |
