As any consumer can tell you, the nation has recently experienced sharp increases in the price of gasoline, home heating oil, natural gas, and electricity, and there is increasing uncertainty about the adequacy of long-term supplies of energy.

Because the United States hasn't had a short-term, middle-term or long-term energy policy for the last eight years, we have been going through energy far faster than we currently can replace it. During this time period our dependency on foreign oil has increased so much that we now rely on other countries for nearly 60% of our oil. The depth of that dependency is troubling when you consider that two-thirds of the crude oil entering the world market is from the Middle East and Africa – regions that have historically been characterized by political and military instability.

While our oil imports have increased, the amount of oil produced in the United States has plummeted. U.S. oil output now stands at 6.36 million barrels per day - the lowest level since 1954. In America, our domestic production has dropped 17% in the last eight years alone. With this drop in production has come a loss of jobs. More than 500,000 American jobs have been lost since the early 1980s. But it's not just oil and gas producers who are being hurt by rising oil imports. It's also the country as a whole, because we are losing much of our domestic production capability by failing to tap into newer, cleaner and more efficient energy technologies.

To address these matters, in 2001, the US House passed legislation supported by President Bush to develop a long-term energy strategy. The legislation would have modernized and increased conservation; expanded the energy infrastructure; diversified energy supplies by utilizing renewable fuels like soy diesel and ethanol, improved and accelerated environmental protection, and strengthened America's energy security. Though the Senate also passed a bill, it lacked many of these provisions and failed to significantly reduce America's dependency on foreign sources of oil. The partisan infighting of the Senate slowed down, stalled, and eventually stopped any hope of completing an effective energy bill.

Now that we are in a new Congressional session, there will be new leadership and a new set of tasks for America. I am hopeful our energy independence will be at the top of the list.