CR Nation

Speak their language. And right now the youth (18-29 yr olds) are speaking energy fluently. The Pew Research Center reports:

Fully half of people ages 18 to 29 (51%) now say expanding energy exploration is a more important priority for energy policy than increasing energy conservation and regulation; only about a quarter of young people (26%) expressed this view in February.

The youth appears to be leading the charge of a broader trend. Again, the Pew Research Center reports:

Nearly half (47%) now rates energy exploration as the more important priority, up from 35% in February. The proportion saying it is more important to increase energy conservation and regulation has declined by 10 points (from 55% to 45%).

Republican Senators have come together to offer a bill, the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008, to finally start producing more American energy and take away Democrats’ excuses for opposing any proposals to increase domestic supplies of oil.

The New York Times writes today, “In a rather dramatic show of force, 22 Senate Republicans attended a news conference in a grassy park outside the Senate office buildings to trumpet the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008.”

Democrats can no longer hide behind ANWR or their opposition to clean coal technology. If they are serious about doing anything on gas prices, they should support this bill.

For too long, the situation has been, as Senate Republican Conference Chair Lamar Alexander said yesterday, “When we say, ‘deep shore exploration,’ they say ‘no we can’t.’ When we say ‘oil shale development,’ they say ‘no we can’t.’ When we say ‘more nuclear power to plug in electric cars and trucks,’ they say ‘no we can’t.’” The American people want Congress to say “yes we can” on domestic oil production and it’s time for the Democrats to step up.

THE GAS PRICE REDUCTION ACT OF 2008

TITLE I – DEEP SEA EXPLORATION (OCS)

14 Billion Barrels On Atlantic and Pacific OCS – More Than All US Imports From Persian Gulf Countries Over The Last 15 Years

State Option Nationwide (except Gulf of Mexico)
Governor petitions to allow exploration, with concurrence of state legislature
Exploration must be at least 50 miles from coast
50% of revenues to Federal Treasury, 37.5% to States, 12.5% to Land & Water Conservation Fund

TITLE II: WESTERN STATE OIL SHALE EXPLORATION

More Than 3 Times The Oil Reserves Of Saudi Arabia

800 billion – 2 trillion potentially recoverable barrels in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
Democrat Congress put moratorium on final regulations for development of this resource
Republican proposal would repeal the moratorium and allow exploration to move forward

TITLE III: PLUG-IN ELECTRIC CARS AND TRUCKS

We need better batteries to maximize electricity range & use less gas
Increased R&D for advanced batteries
Direct Loans for advanced battery manufacturing facilities
Sense of Senate that the Federal Government should increase its purchases of these vehicles

TITLE IV: STRENGTHENING U.S. FUTURES MARKETS

Authorizes increased funding/staff for Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Directs the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to study the international regulation of commodities markets
Codifies CFTC action on position limits and transparency for foreign boards of trade
Requires the CFTC to gather information on index traders and swap dealers

The Democrats have oulawed fried food at their 2008 convention in Denver as part of their efforts to “go green”.

Here is what one Democrat had to say:

…this is EXACTLY why my beloved Democratic Party loses elections. The various factions that make up our party spend so much time trying to ensure that each one of their core principles is thrust upon Americans with little or no choice. After all ‘we’ know ‘better.’ … this information only adds to the perception that Democrats care more about engineering society in a politically correct fashion, than we do about helping working families put food on the table … God help me when I put on my delegate credentials in Denver…

Here is what Republican radio host Glen Beck had to say:

This is what these people [democrats] are worried about? How much are you paying for gas? This is what they’re worried about, whether their fanny packs come from organic cotton?