Congressman Pat Tiberi

We all know that increasing energy prices are hurting Ohio families. Between the rising cost to fill up the gas tank and to heat and cool homes, energy prices are eating away at family budgets. Soaring prices at the pump are compounding transportation costs and are causing food prices to increase, hitting us at every turn.



When Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was sworn in as Speaker of the House in January of 2007, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.33. Even then Speaker Pelosi thought gas prices were too high. For nearly a year before that she was promising that Democrats had a “commonsense plan” to lower gas prices. Given the rhetoric I think it was reasonable to assume that Speaker Pelosi would have worked to lower prices, but now, fifteen months later, the average price has risen to $3.60 a gallon.



What has Speaker Pelosi done to lower energy prices? Has she permitted more domestic energy exploration? No. Has she promoted fuels like clean coal or nuclear energy? No. Has she allowed new oil refineries to be built so America can increase the amount of gas it produces domestically? No.



Here’s what Speaker Pelosi has done. She’s forced a vote to increase taxes on energy, not once, not twice, but four times. Meanwhile, she knew Senate Democratic leadership had said they wouldn’t consider the bill each time she brought it to the Floor for a vote. That means it had no chance of becoming law. Instead of doing something to lower gas prices, she’s leading a fruitless ritual of repeatedly bringing up bad legislation that has no chance of becoming law. I supported Speaker Pelosi when she worked to pass higher vehicle mileage standards. This helps make our cars operate in a more fuel efficient manner in the coming years, thereby lowering the cost to operate a vehicle and easing demand for fuel; but it does nothing to lower energy prices now or in the immediate future.



What we need now is an energy production plan. It should be comprehensive. It should be a plan that considers a wide range of views. Senators and representatives from both parties need to come together to craft a production plan. While we’re focused on a long-term solution to our nation’s energy needs, we should examine what we can do to reduce energy costs in the near term.



While Cubans are finding natural gas wells in the Atlantic Ocean, near our shores, Speaker Pelosi hasn’t allowed American workers to pursue deep water exploration. When allies like Canada are extracting oil off its coasts, we’re prohibited from doing the same. Speaker Pelosi won’t permit votes on exploration within our borders, even though experts believe there may be significant energy reserves in Alaska and in the Dakotas. Speaker Pelosi won’t allow us to expand nuclear energy production, while our allies in Europe have found it to be clean and safe. We also need to encourage more alternative energies like increased solar power, more investment in clean coal technology, further fuel cell development, and additional bio fuel production. But each measure alone won’t bring relief.



If we don’t have increased energy production domestically, how are we going to become energy independent? This truly is a national security issue for this country. We need energy. We need to produce it ourselves so we do not depend on countries that may want to do us harm. There is no silver bullet solution. However, instead of voting on Speaker Pelosi’s energy tax plan over and over, we need to seriously come up with an energy production plan. We all need to give a little; we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In the end we’ll benefit, and if we’re lucky future generations may not face an energy crisis.