Jim's Spring Newsletter

Statement

Jim's Spring Newsletter

By: Senator Jim Bunning

Frank Talk About Energy

Three years ago I wrote a column about soaring gas prices saying "...with gas prices averaging $2.12 a gallon, and the price of oil consistently over $50.00 a barrel, Kentuckians will notice their wallets lighter than years past." Unfortunately, those wallets are even lighter now with gas prices in the Commonwealth approaching $4.00 a gallon, and the price of a barrel of oil hitting a new record each and everyday.

It is frustrating for many Kentuckians and it is frustrating for me to see our country beholden to a Middle Eastern oil cartel in control of the spigot. Kentucky's working families are making tough decisions on whether to buy food or gas. America must diversify our energy consumption, and we must not hesitate to take risks on new technologies. The days of filling up your car for $2.12 per gallon are over.

To look at how we got into this mess, one should start on the day when then President Bill Clinton vetoed the Balance Budget Act on December 6, 1995. The legislation included a provision to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). President Clinton was on the verge of his 1996 re-election campaign and bowed to the powerful environmental lobby. This shortsighted political maneuver was the beginning of Democrats and some north eastern Republicans kowtowing to the environmentalists.

I have tried time and again to open up ANWR and have failed every time since 1995. Opening up ANWR would not devastate the natural beauty of the North Slope. Only one-tenth of one percent of the total acreage would be used for drilling. Plus with new technologies such as directional drilling the footprint would be small. It is estimated that the amount of oil that is under the North Slope rivals those oil fields in the Middle East. It is just mind-boggling as to why legislators would not want to open ANWR which is part of the United States of America to drilling. I guess they just want to rely on the Middle Eastern oil cartel.

Drilling for more oil is not the only answer to solve our energy crisis. I have been a strong advocate of Coal-To-Liquid fuels in the United States Senate. However, the leftist environmental lobby has been a thorn in my efforts to move the legislation along. CTL will be an environmentally friendly fuel and burns cleaner and more efficiently than gasoline. The United States Air Force has tested CTL in the B-52 bomber and has found that CTL jet fuel is more efficient than conventional fuels.

This technology works. South Africa has been using CTL as its transportation fuel for decades.. As we all know, Kentucky has an abundant supply of coal. Some progress has been made, and hopefully a commercial-scale CTL plant will someday call Kentucky home. America needs these plants so we can wean ourselves off of foreign oil. In the months ahead I will continue to push this important technology in the United States Senate.

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Funding For Our Troops

The United States Senate is considering the President's request for emergency funding for the ongoing war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Providing funding and support for our troops is one of the most important responsibilities we have as members of Congress. We have a moral obligation to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform have the resources they need to keep America safe. This emergency funding is vital to our continued success in the Global War on Terror. I am going to do everything I can to see that it includes the necessary funding levels requested by the President that are based on the needs of our commanders on the ground - not by politicians in Washington.

As we debate this funding I also believe that we need to closely examine the needs of our troops - both those who serve abroad and those at home. I am forever grateful to the millions of men and women who put themselves in harm's way everyday for the sake of our freedom. We owe them and their families a great deal of gratitude for their personal sacrifices.

I have always believed that Congress has a duty to provide our veterans with the benefits and services they were promised. I recognize that as the nature of the conflicts change so too must the benefits we provide them. I believe it is time to examine and update some of our veteran benefits programs so that we can better address their needs especially as we see more and more of these brave men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last year Congress took an important step forward on this issue through the passage of the Wounded Warrior Act. I was a proud supporter of this bill and am glad that we have finally begun to address the mental health issues of returning servicemen.

I also believe that we need to update the education benefits that we provide our troops and veterans. As the cost of living has increased over the years, so, too, has the cost of education. This month I supported legislation to increase this benefit in a fiscally responsible way that does not break the bank of the average American taxpayer but yet better meets the needs of our troops and their families. I hope that we will have the opportunity to further update these benefits so that all service members that would like to get a college degree can receive a quality education.

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Honoring Our Fallen

On Monday, May 26, we will celebrate Memorial Day - a day to honor all those who have fallen while serving America's Armed Forces. America has and always will have the bravest and most dedicated military men and women in uniform. Because of their efforts we continue to live in the greatest nation. I ask on this Memorial Day that you take a moment, as my wife Mary and I do many nights, to thank our troops for their service and pray for their safe return and for their families. Just as they defend our freedoms every day we must continue to defend them at home. On this Memorial Day they deserve to know that America is one hundred percent behind them.

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