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High gas prices are hurting the pocketbook of everyone in Orange County. Family budgets are strained. That is why I have been pushing for short and long-term solutions to lower gas prices and to address our future energy needs.

Today, our economy is 70 percent dependent on foreign energy sources for gasoline, most of which we get from hostile countries. Over the next ten years, if no action is taken to increase energy sources, it is estimated that the U.S. will spend $10 trillion on foreign oil, much of it going to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, and other OPEC cartel countries.

The OPEC oil cartel controls more than three quarters of the world’s global oil reserves and severely restricts both supply and access to its oil fields. This has caused a dramatic spike in the price of oil, which not only hits consumers at the pump, but harms nearly every aspect of the economy.

I am working on legislation to lift the prohibitions imposed on new domestic energy production— from nuclear, to oil and gas exploration, to oil shale, to coal liquefaction into gas, to new windmills and large solar projects, and to gas refineries.

These moratoriums help drive up energy costs and risk sinking the economy. The prohibition on exploration must be relaxed as we continue the development of new lithium-ion car batteries and flex fuels, which will make our vehicles less dependent on foreign oil. New, clean technology is doubling car battery capacity every two years for hybrid vehicles. Yet even as these advances compound, we must lift the moratoriums on new energy sources in the U.S. to drive down the price of gas. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board testified that oil supplies are so tight that a one percent increase in supply could drop the price of oil by ten percent.

I am an original cosponsor of the "American Energy Act" which will increase the supply of American-made energy, improve conservation and efficiency, and promote renewable and alternative energy technologies. This legislation will open up our deep water resources, open the Arctic coastal plain, allow for development of our nation's oil shale, and cut red tape to allow for the construction of new refineries - refineries that haven't been built in over 30 years in this country.

This legislation also provides tax incentives for businesses and families that purchase more fuel efficient cars. It also provides tax incentives to those that improve their energy efficiency. It permanently extends the tax credit for alternative energy production, including wind, solar and hydrogen. Barriers to the expansion of emission-free nuclear power production are eliminated in this piece of legislation. It spurs the development of alternative fuels.

Renewable and clean energy sources like nuclear, wind, solar, and lithium-ion car batteries for electric hybrids will provide the base of our energy supply in the future. Improvements in vehicular fuel efficiency have also helped, benefiting the environment and lessening our reliance on oil. In the interim, however, it is vital that we tap into our natural resources. A now restricted Alaskan site has an estimated 10.6 billion barrels of oil, and the oil shale reserves in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming hold nearly 1.8 trillion barrels of crude oil, but are closed to exploration.

It is vital that we utilize our nation’s vast energy supplies. At the same time, we should continue to develop new, clean technology. This would significantly reduce our use of foreign oil. Doing so is an economic necessity and is vital to our national security.

As you may know, the downturn in the housing industry appears to be weighing heavily on our economy. Millions of mortgages are spiking from their introductory "teaser" rates to rates less appealing, which has led to widespread foreclosures.  Unfortunately, the homeowner is not the only person affected when they lose their house to foreclosure. In communities with high foreclosure rates, the crime rate frequently goes up, tax revenues generated by local governments decline, and the neighboring property values decrease. The lenders and investors also suffer. When a house moves into foreclosure, they often lose a significant portion of their investment. For instance, investors typically lose 30% to 50% of the unpaid mortgage balance when a home has to be resold due to foreclosure.

Because a wave of foreclosures would impact people across the spectrum, it is in the best interest of everyone involved to work toward preventing such an occurrence. Last August, the Hope Now Alliance was established to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. This program is bringing together private companies involved in the current mortgage turmoil to develop a solution that does not reward risky behavior but has the ability to slow down the number of foreclosures.

To date, over 2.3 million loans have been restructured through the Hope Now Alliance. These workouts allow the borrowers to stay in the home and help ease the burden these pending foreclosures have had on our capital markets.

Additionally, earlier this year six of the largest mortgage servicers in the United States announced Project Lifeline, a targeted outreach to homeowners' 90-days or more delinquent that may lead to a pause in the foreclosure process. This voluntary initiative is intended to reach not only subprime borrowers, but all 90-day delinquent homeowners nationwide with a step-by-step approach to find individual solutions to individual problems.

While these agreements are a step in the right direction, communication is essential. If you are facing a potential foreclosure, it is important to learn about all of the options that are available to you. By calling 888-995-HOPE, you can receive free confidential counseling about your particular housing concerns from a professional. This 24-hour hotline can provide you with information about Hope Now, Project Lifeline and other available options.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has several programs designed to promote homeownership and avoid foreclosures. HUD recently unveiled the HOPE for Homeowners program that will refinance mortgages for borrowers who are having difficulty making their payments, but can afford a new loan insured by HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The program begins October 1, 2008 and ends September 30, 2011. You can reach HUD to get more information on their homeowner assistance programs by visiting their website at www.hud.gov or by calling 800-569-4287.

I have held hearings to discuss the problem of our porous borders. During a hearing, "Checking Terrorism at the Border," Members heard that terrorists had defrauded America's border security and immigration system, including many since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One of the witnesses, an individual experienced as a top security official in the immigration field, told Members in frank terms that top immigration officials aren't taking seriously their responsibility to counter terrorism. The USCIS, the agency that establishes the immigration status of millions of applicants yearly, remains deeply flawed, which a Government Accountability Office report highlighted.

Knowing of the border vulnerabilities America faces I cosponsored of the Secure Fence Act, and strongly supported it when it passed by overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. The Secure Fence Act requires double fencing and puts a fence where it is needed most -- in areas that have the highest instances of drug smuggling, human smuggling, and gang activity. However, the omnibus spending bill, passed in December, removes the two-tier requirement and the list of locations. The omnibus also puts up numerous bureaucratic and legal hurdles to undermine the fences completion. I voted against the omnibus bill.

More recently, I cosponsored the Fence By Date Certain Act which would largely reinstate language included in the Secure Fence Act, which became law in October 2006. The Fence By Date Certain Act would repeal the Omnibus language, reinstate provisions of the Secure Fence Act which required 700 miles of double-layered fencing at specific locations along the border, authorize full funding, and require the fence to be built by June 30, 2009.

I am also an original cosponsor of the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act. I am also on the discharge petition to bring the bill to the floor. This bill will secure America's borders, implement mandatory work authorization verification, and reduce illegal immigration through interior enforcement. This legislation provides the tools and resources necessary to enforce immigration laws.

It requires all employers to verify employee's eligibility to work and sanctions them if they do not do so. It requires mandatory notification of social security number mismatches and multiple uses and makes the Department of Homeland Security assess the maximum allowable penalties on employers.

This legislation provides the tools and resources necessary to enforce immigration laws. We must begin to restore the integrity of our nation's borders and reestablish respect for our immigration laws.

To view of a list of immigration related legislation I've cosponsored please, click here. 

The Subcommittee explores issues such as the ideology that inspires terrorism; terrorist financing; terrorist sanctuaries and failed states; and capacity building of foreign forces to fight terrorism. The Subcommittee's jurisdiction over nonproliferation issues is crucial given the severity of the threat of weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands.

My interest in terrorism predates the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In Congressional hearings in 1996, I warned of the terrorist breeding ground in Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda was training. I authored the Radio Free Afghanistan Act of 2001, bringing a voice of tolerance and freedom to a region that was once dominated by Taliban-run hate radio. Combining my work on the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, I am a founding member and Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Task Force on Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, which seeks to strengthen efforts to fight against the funding of terrorism.

When I chaired the Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation in the 109th Congress, I led efforts to combat the proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles, of which there is a thriving black-market. My Subcommittee dug deep into the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation network and I led efforts in the House to pass the historic U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

Of course, the two greatest nonproliferation challenges we face are Iran and North Korea. A nuclear-armed Iran would have severe consequences, as many neighboring states would likely pursue nuclear weapons programs of their own, not to mention its active state-sponsorship of terrorism. For this reason, I was critical of the National Intelligence Estimate that downplayed the threat from Iran, noting that Iran continues to actively pursue uranium enrichment technology, the most difficult a step in the path to nuclear bomb making. With respect to North Korea, I have been critical of our policy. To date, it is still unclear as to whether North Korea intends to give up its nuclear weapons. All the while, North Korea's sophisticated illicit nuclear procurement network goes unaddressed, while U.S. concessions entrench a hostile regime.

Lastly, the Subcommittee has jurisdiction over matters relating to international economic and trade policy. At a time when our economy is struggling, exports have been a bright spot. We could improve that, by slashing tariffs aboard for U.S. businesses. You can't sell the goods if they’re taxed out or otherwise shut-out of foreign markets. To that point, U.S. exports to countries with which we've struck trade agreements have jumped dramatically. Unfortunately, the Democratic-led Congress has knee jerk opposed trade agreements. Consider Colombia. Earlier this year, this Congress passed legislation allowing most all Colombian exports to enter the U.S. market tax-free. Yet the Democrats have shot down an agreement that would force Colombia to reduce substantially its taxes on U.S. goods, meaning U.S. exports will remain less competitive.