Gas Prices Are a Big Concern, Lawmakers Say
By Joseph Morton, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Aug. 5–WASHINGTON — Senators and House members know that one issue burns brighter than all others in constituents’ minds right now.
“It’s gas prices,” said Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.
Pain at the pump has dominated the teleconferences that Fortenberry holds with residents of the 1st Congressional District.
Other Nebraska and Iowa lawmakers say that they have had the same experience and that the volume of letters and e-mails they get on the subject has been high. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., received nearly 2,000 pieces of mail related to energy in a recent two-week period.
“There’s no question it’s the No. 1 issue,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
King said he represents thousands of rural constituents who use a gallon or more of gas every day to get to and from work. Their monthly gasoline costs threaten to surpass their rent payments, he said.
Despite the clamoring for relief and the fact that Capitol Hill has been buzzing with talk of boosting energy supplies, Congress headed off for its August recess on Friday without enacting any major energy legislation.
Congress has deadlocked repeatedly on how to increase U.S. energy production. Republicans have favored lifting a moratorium on off-shore drilling and granting oil and gas companies leases to explore new areas. Democrats talk about pressuring oil companies to produce more supplies from areas they already control.
Energy also has become one of the top issues in the presidential campaign. The two major party candidates have sparred over the best direction for the country’s energy policies.
Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama both say they oppose opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling, a move called for by many congressional Republicans.
Obama seems open to what’s billed as a compromise energy proposal by the so-called “Gang of 10,” which includes Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. The proposal calls for some new off-shore drilling, tax credits and other incentives for more efficient motor vehicles, and funding for alternative energy sources.
Obama said Monday in Michigan that he could support limited new offshore drilling if it were needed to enact the compromise.
“I am not interested in making the perfect the enemy of the good,” he said, “particularly since there is so much good in this compromise that would actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
McCain, speaking in Pennsylvania, again advocated more oil drilling off the U.S. coast.
“Anybody who says that we can achieve energy independence without using and increasing these existing energy resources either doesn’t have the experience to understand the challenge that we face or isn’t giving the American people some straight talk,” he said.
Nebraska and Iowa lawmakers will have to hope the people they represent in this election year are satisfied that they’ve proposed ideas for confronting the country’s energy needs, even if they haven’t become law.
Nelson and nine other senators formed the bipartisan group that worked for weeks to break the logjam. The senators outlined their proposal last week, saying they hope it will be the basis for a new, broader debate when Congress returns in September.
The energy debate has been so contentious that many frustrated Republican House members refused to leave after the session officially ended at midday Friday. The microphones and cameras were turned off, but GOP members lingered on the floor giving speeches on energy in a kind of impromptu rally.
Among the members who spoke were Fortenberry, King and Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb. Because the House was not officially in session, congressional aides and tourists filled the seats on the floor and in the galleries. Those people repeatedly stood and cheered or chanted “vote, vote” over and over again.
“We’ve made a clear statement we were willing to stay and keep working on this,” said Fortenberry, who recently introduced legislation to encourage the development of rural wind energy production.
A small group of House members, including King, returned to the floor Monday to continue the faux session. Terry said he would fly back to Washington on Thursday to join them for a day.
Terry plans to hold an “energy relief” rally today in Omaha. He has previously advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, using oil shale on federal lands and increasing the production of ethanol.
Smith has called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to meet with him and other House freshmen who traveled to the wildlife refuge to investigate the drilling potential there. He favors opening the area to drilling.
King said he wants to see energy come from wherever it can be found, although he opposes a Democratic proposal, endorsed Monday by Obama, to draw down from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He said the reserve would be critical in the case of a serious national emergency, such as Iran cutting off oil supplies.
All of the lawmakers will keep their fingers crossed that when they’re back home, their constituents will view them as laboring on the problem and not just producing hot air.
Nelson said that when constituents confront him about the energy crisis, he’s going to point to the proposals outlined by the Gang of 10.
“They’re not going to get mad at me, because I’m trying to get something done,” Nelson said.
This report includes material from the Associated Press.
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