‘Americans don’t need lower gas prices, but we the lawmakers need a vacation.’ — Ed.
Last year, in the waning days before August recess, Democratic leaders infamously stole a House floor vote on a Republican proposal to block taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants, literally forcing House parliamentarians to back down from their initial vote tally so several Democrats could change their votes and defeat the proposal. Not to be outdone this year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her colleagues in the Democratic leadership are again wielding their power to block legislation allowing more environmentally-safe drilling for oil and gas here at home to help bring down the price at the pump.
Though the tactics used to steal the vote on illegal immigration and block votes on American energy may have been different, the motivation behind them was exactly the same: they were doing the bidding of their special interest allies on the Left. In the case of the stolen illegal immigration vote, they were satisfying the demands of groups fighting to keep our borders wide open. And in the case of the blocked American energy vote, they were scrambling to please a tiny band of radical environmentalists, such as the Sierra Club, which has plainly stated that America is “better off without cheap gas” and is running ads in support of freshman Democrats.
The House Republican proposal – appropriately titled the American Energy Act – actually would spur more than just new drilling. Not only would it increase production of American energy far offshore, on federal lands in the Inter-Mountain West, and in remote areas of Alaska’s North Slope, but it also would encourage conservation and efficiency and promote alternative forms of energy, such as biofuels and nuclear. We call it the “all of the above” strategy for energy independence.