August 11, 2008 - U.S. Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) joined fellow Republicans in taking to the House floor today to speak against Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic majority's decision to force adjournment for the summer recess without allowing a vote on energy legislation that would help lower the price of gas, provide for innovative energy alternatives, and eliminate the country's reliance on foreign oil. 

"Speaker Pelosi and the majority leadership showed the American people that a comprehensive energy debate is out of the question when they adjourned for the August recess.  Unfortunately for Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues, they answer to the American people, and not the other way around as their recent decision suggests.  I stand here today with my colleagues who have returned to Washington, D.C. from all over the country to give voice to the will of the American people. 

"Today the country of Iran has its own Manhattan Project and at this very moment it continues to enrich uranium, a critical component necessary to building nuclear weapons.  An Iran with nuclear capabilities is truly one of the greatest external threats to peace facing America and the entire human family.  Every single time we buy oil from certain Middle Eastern countries, we only contribute to growing world demand and strengthen regimes that are already hostile toward America.

“Our most basic responsibility in Congress is to provide for the security of the American people.  It is beyond my understanding how Speaker Pelosi and liberals in Congress can say that we are protecting our citizens when we indirectly fund terrorist operations every time we fill up at the pump."

“America’s energy crisis necessitates that Congress openly debate the problem with the same determination and innovative spirit we have used to overcome the many difficulties and challenges we’ve faced in our nation’s history.  It also requires that we unleash the same enduring ingenuity, resilience, and industriousness that have helped make America what it is and have catalyzed our thriving free market now for over 200 years, through an “all of the above” approach to energy policy such as the legislation introduced by Republicans last month.

“As millions of American citizens continue suffering under record-breaking gas prices, going home and closing down Congress at such a critical time—without allowing a vote— cripples the mechanism of democracy that serves as a foundation of the People’s House.  As Representatives of the American people, we cannot, and I will not, stand aside complicity while our children’s futures, our economic viability, and our national security remain jeopardized by the Democrat majority’s refusal to address this issue."

“Speaker Pelosi, turn these lights back on!"