East Alabama's Economy Needs Real Energy Solutions

Op-Ed

East Alabama's Economy Needs Real Energy Solutions

After Hurricane Ike slammed into Texas, gas prices hit all time highs - even more than the skyrocketing prices we've been enduring.

In our struggling economy, folks just aren't getting any relief. Just as gas prices were beginning to ease a bit, these spikes once again showed how folks all too often have to choose between filling up their cars, or filling up their grocery carts.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King personally assured me last week he was investigating any reports of price gouging, which under current law he has full authority to do so.
People who believe they see price gouging should call the Attorney General at 1-800-392-5658 to report it.

Over the long term, though, the gas price spike is proof once again of why our nation needs a new energy policy.

I was disappointed this week that Democratic Congressional leaders passed a bill that paid lip service to the economic pain working people are feeling.

Instead of doing something that truly helped increase our energy independence and lower energy prices, Congress passed a political gimmick.

I opposed this legislation for several reasons. The first is the bill does not allow real drilling for oil. We will not, of course, drill our way to energy independence. But in the short term, getting there will take tapping into all the resources we have here at home.

The Democrats' bill allowed new drilling only over 50 miles off the shore of coastal states. This limitation would exclude 88 percent of all off-shore energy reserves from drilling. It also offers little incentive for states to participate because it doesn't share revenues from drilling with the state.

On top of that, the bill does not lift the prohibition on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Unlike my energy legislation, for example, would allow environmentally safe drilling in ANWR and would use the federal royalties and taxes collected there to invest in American-made fuels.

Even Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) pronounced the Democrat bill "dead on arrival" in the Senate, revealing the bill for the sham it really is.

Worst of all, the legislation would further increase electricity bill costs for working people across East Alabama - folks who are already facing steep hikes in their utility bills this upcoming winter.

Just ask the folks up in Cherokee County, for example. They're looking at 20 percent increase on their utility bills. Why would Congress pass mandates, while well intentioned, that would raise these bills even more?

Congress must get serious now - really serious - about working for folks struggling in this economy. Getting America on the track to real energy independence is a good place to start.

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