The more I read or hear about Congress' decisions, Democrats and Republicans, the more I have come to believe they have no right to be our representatives. They deal with complex issues they know nothing about, then make the wrong decisions. They think with their party, rather than carefully looking into the effects of their new laws. They overlook the responsibility of staying within budget. They start new programs without money to offset it. They give away money to foreign countries that do not have our best interests at heart. They misappropriate funds with nary a blink. They use their office for their own gain; whether through campaign funding, or passing pork for themselves, friends or family. They ignore escalating problems, which they have recently done in the energy crisis, bad lending practices, or cost of health care.
Equally disturbing is the closed door meetings, the cronyism, the deceptive practices that disable the other party from contributing to these decisions. Nancy Pelosi and crew wrote a 290 page energy bill in private, released it the night before it was to be voted upon (at 9:45 pm), and expected a vote the next morning without anyone in the House being able to carefully review it. Our representatives are out of control with their dirty and downright unlawful abuse of power. This is unacceptable and has to stop!
It is the responsibility of our Congress to keep people safe, whether from another country or a predatory company. They have failed over and over to keep us safe from companies who prey on us. They are influenced by lobbyists to the point that they put the public's good on the back burner.
Still, we continue to forgive them. We believe that the next President, the next Senator, the next Congressman, will save us from themselves. We believe they will do what is right and make the American public their priority.
Then, we again hear of their own self-interests taking precedence over their constituents and we are again disappointed.
The latest shock, besides the bail out, were the recent arguments against drilling for oil in the United States by the Dems. Supposedly proponents of the poor, they wish to drive up the price of gas in order to force their hand. A hand that is driven by a minority called the Sierra Club, the green party, who wants other forms of energy.
According to "the hill.com," the House just passed an energy bill by 236 to 189:
"The 290-page energy bill, assembled behind closed doors in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office, put nearly all House Democrats on record supporting some offshore drilling.
The bill also included language to end tax breaks for oil companies and authorized the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The House bill does not include any effort to expand nuclear power.
But the most notable feature of the bill was the section that allows states to decide whether to have drilling off their coastlines. The bill would still ban it between three miles and 50 miles. (Note: 95% of the oil resources are between 0 and 50 miles from the shore.)
In her speech on the floor, Pelosi said the change came as a result of President Bush’s decision to lift the moratorium on drilling in the OCS, which would allow oil companies to drill three miles offshore. Pelosi characterized the legislation as an attempt to protect the shoreline.
While putting the decision in the hands of the coastal states, it offers little or no incentive for states to allow the drilling beyond the idea that they would share in any reduction in gasoline prices and perhaps gain some industrial operations.
In the heated debate that stretched across the day from the House floor to press conferences, Democrats accused Republicans of being beholden to oil companies, while Republicans in return charged Democrats with drafting a “sham” bill that does not really open resources.
“‘Drill now, drill here, drill only’ is a slogan, not a cure,” said Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Natural Resources Committee ranking member Don Young (R-Alaska) said, “You can get more energy out of this bill if you took all of the copies of the bill and put it in a bonfire.”
“A bill gets filed at 9:45 the night before and then it’s announced it’s going to come to the floor the next morning as the first bill up, a bill that no one has read, written in the dark of night that won’t do a damn thing about American energy,” Boehner said. “Enough is enough!”
He added, “It’s rigged. And the bill that’s coming to the floor is nothing more than hoax on the American people and they will not buy it.”
Although the bill passed the House, it still faces challenges in the Senate. The question of cutting states in on the potential $2.6 trillion in revenue emerged as a major point of contention. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) one of the Democrats shepherding the bill through the House, said he expects the upper chamber to cut the states in on the $2.6 trillion windfall in royalties.
The bill would also end a congressional moratorium blocking the Department of Interior from starting a leasing program for oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, giving those state governments the right to decide whether to authorize a leasing agreement."
It is the responsibility of our Congress to keep people safe, whether from another country or a predatory company. They have failed over and over to keep us safe from companies who prey on us. They are influenced by lobbyists to the point that they put the public's good on the back burner.
Still, we continue to forgive them. We believe that the next President, the next Senator, the next Congressman, will save us from themselves. We believe they will do what is right and make the American public their priority.
Then, we again hear of their own self-interests taking precedence over their constituents and we are again disappointed.
The latest shock, besides the bail out, were the recent arguments against drilling for oil in the United States by the Dems. Supposedly proponents of the poor, they wish to drive up the price of gas in order to force their hand. A hand that is driven by a minority called the Sierra Club, the green party, who wants other forms of energy.
According to "the hill.com," the House just passed an energy bill by 236 to 189:
"The 290-page energy bill, assembled behind closed doors in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office, put nearly all House Democrats on record supporting some offshore drilling.
The bill also included language to end tax breaks for oil companies and authorized the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The House bill does not include any effort to expand nuclear power.
But the most notable feature of the bill was the section that allows states to decide whether to have drilling off their coastlines. The bill would still ban it between three miles and 50 miles. (Note: 95% of the oil resources are between 0 and 50 miles from the shore.)
In her speech on the floor, Pelosi said the change came as a result of President Bush’s decision to lift the moratorium on drilling in the OCS, which would allow oil companies to drill three miles offshore. Pelosi characterized the legislation as an attempt to protect the shoreline.
While putting the decision in the hands of the coastal states, it offers little or no incentive for states to allow the drilling beyond the idea that they would share in any reduction in gasoline prices and perhaps gain some industrial operations.
In the heated debate that stretched across the day from the House floor to press conferences, Democrats accused Republicans of being beholden to oil companies, while Republicans in return charged Democrats with drafting a “sham” bill that does not really open resources.
“‘Drill now, drill here, drill only’ is a slogan, not a cure,” said Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Natural Resources Committee ranking member Don Young (R-Alaska) said, “You can get more energy out of this bill if you took all of the copies of the bill and put it in a bonfire.”
“A bill gets filed at 9:45 the night before and then it’s announced it’s going to come to the floor the next morning as the first bill up, a bill that no one has read, written in the dark of night that won’t do a damn thing about American energy,” Boehner said. “Enough is enough!”
He added, “It’s rigged. And the bill that’s coming to the floor is nothing more than hoax on the American people and they will not buy it.”
Although the bill passed the House, it still faces challenges in the Senate. The question of cutting states in on the potential $2.6 trillion in revenue emerged as a major point of contention. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) one of the Democrats shepherding the bill through the House, said he expects the upper chamber to cut the states in on the $2.6 trillion windfall in royalties.
The bill would also end a congressional moratorium blocking the Department of Interior from starting a leasing program for oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, giving those state governments the right to decide whether to authorize a leasing agreement."
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-energy-bill-passes-2008-09-16.html
So, if this bill passes the Senate, we will be in worse shape then when this gas crisis started. By removing tax breaks for the oil companies, the companies will raise their prices to offset the additional cost. With no incentives for the states to allow drilling, they won't want to drill. And, there will be no nuclear power incentives.
In the meantime, gas prices will be higher. People who are struggling to fill their cars with gas to get to work will struggle even more. The cost of everything will skyrocket due to the expense of transportation. Companies will feel the effects of the consumer restricting their spending and employees will be laid off. The economy will not prosper. Again, Congress is simply not capable of making complex laws that affect the economy. They are not qualified.
Congress has an opportunity to make us a stronger, energy independent country. They have the opportunity to bring new jobs to this country related to energy. Instead, they are suppressing our prosperity, our freedom to travel, our spending, our very security as a nation.
Shame on Pelosi and everyone who passes this bill. Once again, they have disappointed us with their incompetence.
So, if this bill passes the Senate, we will be in worse shape then when this gas crisis started. By removing tax breaks for the oil companies, the companies will raise their prices to offset the additional cost. With no incentives for the states to allow drilling, they won't want to drill. And, there will be no nuclear power incentives.
In the meantime, gas prices will be higher. People who are struggling to fill their cars with gas to get to work will struggle even more. The cost of everything will skyrocket due to the expense of transportation. Companies will feel the effects of the consumer restricting their spending and employees will be laid off. The economy will not prosper. Again, Congress is simply not capable of making complex laws that affect the economy. They are not qualified.
Congress has an opportunity to make us a stronger, energy independent country. They have the opportunity to bring new jobs to this country related to energy. Instead, they are suppressing our prosperity, our freedom to travel, our spending, our very security as a nation.
Shame on Pelosi and everyone who passes this bill. Once again, they have disappointed us with their incompetence.
(Another good article on the energy bill: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/09/16/pelosis-energy-bill-is-a-sham/)
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