WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  Our economy is struggling and East Alabamians are getting hammered at the pump. Those were two of the messages Congressman Mike Rogers took with him to Washington today, as he joined several of his colleagues in the House of Representatives to demand Congress vote on a common sense proposal to increase domestic drilling.

Rogers, who this week had talked with constituents from places like Centre, Piedmont, Eastaboga, Talladega, and Montgomery about our struggling economy and high gas prices, said it was time for Congress to act.

“Folks are hurting in this economy. All too many are struggling to pay their bills and can no longer afford to fill up their tanks. It’s time for Congress to come back in session and vote on common sense solutions – like increased domestic drilling and dramatically increased support for renewable fuels – to help ease the pain,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he returned to Washington, D.C. today to speak on the House Floor in support of lifting the ban on environmentally safe energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf. In addition to his speech, Rogers was in Washington for constituent meetings.

“Our nation must become free from our dependence on foreign oil,” Rogers said.

Rogers recently introduced legislation, known as the FREE Act, that has two primary goals: to increase domestic energy supplies by lifting the ban on environmentally safe energy exploration in ANWR, and to increase the production of American-made renewable fuels. The legislation would direct federal royalties and taxes collected from ANWR drilling into a new Energy Independence Trust Fund.

Rogers said he also strongly supports increasing funding for clean renewables like solar and wind energy as part of the solution for our energy independence. Some of this funding should be financed by removing unnecessary tax breaks for Big Oil, he said. In 2007 and 2008, Rogers joined Democrats and some Republicans to support legislation that repeals billions in subsidies for the major oil companies.

Rogers serves on the Committee on Agriculture, the Armed Services Committee and the Homeland Security Committee.
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