While rising gas prices are squeezing middle class Americans across the country, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenges facing America’s energy policy. Our dependence on foreign oil has made balanced energy a matter of national security. Pollution and other deadly toxins raise serious health concerns. And the importance of gas, oil and other fuels to our economy means every working American should be concerned about our country’s energy policy.

House Democrats are fighting for a 21st century plan that will bring down gas prices, increase our energy independence, invest in new technologies, and promote energy efficiency and conservation. The record rise in gas prices only reinforces the need for a long-term, balanced national energy policy.  To reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil sources, Congress should invest in domestic energy sources, including measures to increase the use of renewable energy resources and the use of emerging technologies that could increase energy efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption. We deserve a stronger, safer, cleaner country.

But instead of energy policies that benefit the American people, special interests continue to take top priority. Even as gas prices continue to soar nationwide, the House of Representatives passed a misguided energy bill that will increase costs for consumers and taxpayers and put money in the hands of the big energy companies who wrote the bill. While House Democrats were not allowed to participate in drafting the policy and were excluded from deliberations, energy companies and special interests had a seat at the table. As a result, this Republican energy bill is loaded with billions of dollars worth of favors for oil and gas companies.

Even more unsettling are MTBE provisions that Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay forced onto the bill. MTBE is a toxic gas additive that can poison entire drinking water systems and can leak out of gasoline storage tanks to contaminate groundwater. Yet instead of holding MTBE polluters accountable, this bill provides them with a $2 billion subsidy, exempts them from liability and allows them to use MTBE for another nine years. Meanwhile, the American taxpayers who are being poisoned by this toxin will also get stuck with as much as $63 billion in cleanup costs.

This energy bill is a failure. Rather than passing an energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil or invests in new technology, the Republican bill will give big energy companies new tax breaks and increase gas prices and endanger public health and the environment. The American people deserve an energy policy that would boost the economy, preserve the environment, protect public health, and truly lower gasoline prices.