"A Vote That Would
Make a Difference in People's Lives"
Who's to blame for our high gas prices? The oil companies? The
Saudis? OPEC? The answer, unfortunately, is closer to home: The
"No-We-Can't"
Left in Congress.
Last Thursday, with oil at $124 a barrel, liberals on the Senate
Appropriations committee voted to block environmentally sound
development of oil
shale in Colorado.
According to the Investors Business
Daily
there are an estimated 1 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale in
the U.S. and Canada. Retrieving just a tenth of it would quadruple
our current oil reserves.
But the "No-We-Can't" Left in Congress -- as they're prone to do --
said no, and Americans will pay the price. Colorado Senator Wayne
Allard (R)
put it best when he said: "If we are really serious about reducing pain at the pump, this is a vote that would make a difference in people's lives."
Saudi Arabia Did More
Last Week to Lower Gas Prices Than Congress Did
The Left just doesn't seem to get it. They spent much of last week
ridiculing the President for visiting Saudi Arabia in an effort to
lower oil
prices. Here's what Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Friday:
"The president seems to value his friendship with the Saudis more
than his obligation to help the American people with gas prices."
But what Senator Schumer doesn't seem to understand is that the
Saudis did more last week to lower oil prices than liberals in Congress
did.
While liberals were voting to prevent domestic production from oil
shale, the Saudis, following President Bush's visit, agreed to boost
their oil
output by 300,000 barrels a day. It won't fix the problem, but at least
it won't make it worse, which is exactly what liberals in Congress did
last
week.
As Americans, we all need to ask ourselves the following: Which is
it -- the Congress or Saudi Arabia -- that has a greater obligation to
ease
our energy prices? And which is the greater obstacle to energy
independence and security?
The Left's Answer:
More Pain, Not More Production
As I mentioned, the higher energy prices Americans are paying are the equivalent of a huge tax increase. One economist calculated
that the price of oil
rising from $80 a barrel to $100 a barrel had the same effect on
Americans' pocket books as a $150 billion tax increase -- and the price
of oil has
risen an additional $27 since then!
So how is it that the liberals in Congress, faced with an
opportunity like the one last week to lessen this burden on Americans,
could reject it
without a second thought?
Once again, the answer seems to boil down to three little words: "No we can't."
As I mentioned, the higher energy prices Americans are paying are the equivalent of a huge tax increase. One economist calculated
that the price of oil
rising from $80 a barrel to $100 a barrel had the same effect on
Americans' pocket books as a $150 billion tax increase -- and the price
of oil has
risen an additional $27 since then!
So how is it that the liberals in Congress, faced with an
opportunity like the one last week to lessen this burden on Americans,
could reject it
without a second thought?
Once again, the answer seems to boil down to three little words: "No we can't."
Americans Can Control
Our Own Energy Destiny
Our energy and environment challenges are real. But America has the
technological know-how and the entrepreneurial spirit to overcome them.
And,
as I pointed out last week,
Americans overwhelmingly support more domestic production of energy to help ease gas prices.
We -- not the Saudis or the oil companies -- control our energy future. We just need the political will to do so.
High energy prices aren't theoretical, they have real consequences
for real people. The answer, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, isn't easy,
but it's
simple -- so simple it could fit on a bumper sticker:
Drill Here
Drill Now
Pay Less
For information on how you can help, click here.
Your friend,
Newt Gingrich
