Washington, Aug 9 -

BP’s announcement that it must shut down the nation’s largest oil field for repairs has shown the real world consequences of Democrats’ chronic negligence on energy issues.  An editorial in USA Today hit the nail on the head:

“[T]he shutdown highlights the need to expand domestic oil production, which is dangerously concentrated in Alaska and the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico.

“In a tight oil market like the current one, any disruption in supply has severe consequences. America imports 60% of the oil it consumes, pumping petro-dollars into unstable or hostile regimes, several of which underwrite radical Islam.

“Over the next two decades, U.S. demand for oil will increase by a third, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates. Alternative energy sources won't come close to meeting that demand for the foreseeable future. Yet while the lower 48 states are surrounded by billions of barrels of oil offshore, energy companies have been prevented from drilling for it, except in portions of the Gulf Coast.”

And just who has worked tirelessly to prevent Americans from tapping deep ocean energy resources?  Capitol Hill Democrats.  In June, Democrats continued their 30 years of chronic negligence on energy issues by voting “NO” on the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761).

What were Capitol Hill Democrats voting against?  H.R. 4761 would create thousands of family-wage American jobs and allow more of America’s massive energy resources to be produced in the deep seas on the outer-continental shelf (OCS).  But Democrats called it a “horrible bill” and “another Republican attempt to maintain our oil addiction,” and overwhelmingly opposed this common sense attempt at bolstering America’s supply of energy.  

While chronically negligent Democrats have obstructed progress on lowering gas prices, House Republicans have taken action.  So far this year, House Republicans have worked to pass the following common sense energy solutions in addition to H.R. 4761:

• American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act (H.R. 5429) would authorize environmentally-safe energy production in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, create some one million family-wage jobs, and increase the supply of American-made energy to lower gasoline prices.

• Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act (H.R. 5254) would encourage new refinery capacity in order to increase gasoline supplies and drive down high prices.

• H-Prize Act (H.R. 5143) would establish incentives to encourage development of breakthrough hydrogen technologies that would increase American energy supply.

• Federal Energy Price Protection Act (H.R. 5253) would ban price gouging and send a strong signal to any would-be price gougers that they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

• Expanding Infrastructure for Alternative Fuels (H.R. 5534) would expand infrastructure necessary to increase the availability of alternative fuels, such as E85, using money collected from violations of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program.

As USA Today pointed out, “more diverse domestic exploration needs to be part of the solution, even if it won't help immediately.” Democrats’ chronic negligence on energy issues paints a stark contrast with House Republicans who are working to decrease America’s dependence on foreign sources of energy and lower Americans’ cost of living.