Boehner Column: American Energy Act Will Promote Use of Alternative & Renewable Fuels

We’re almost through the summer driving season – with no relief in sight since the Democratic Majority in Congress left Washington, DC for a five-week break. Still, as gas prices remain high and home heating costs expected to soar this fall and winter, I remain hopeful that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will finally allow a vote on the American Energy Act, which is the House Republicans’ plan to lower gas prices by increasing production of American energy, promoting more conservation and efficiency, and encouraging more use of alternative and renewable fuels.

Along with the vast majority of Americans, I want to unlock our natural resources and start producing more American oil and natural gas. It’s also important that we increase our investment in alternative and renewable fuels, and the American Energy Act includes several provisions to do that. I recently visited the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, which is an Energy Department facility operated by private-sector scientists dedicated to perfecting cutting-edge solar, wind, fuel cell, biomass, and other emerging energy technologies. The work being done at NREL is a critical component of our strategy to reduce our nation’s dangerous and costly dependence on foreign oil through a comprehensive “all of the above” strategy.

To encourage the use of renewable and alternative fuels, the American Energy Act would:

Award a monetary prize to the first entrepreneur to develop an economically feasible, super-fuel-efficient vehicle (reaching 100 miles-per-gallon);

Establish a renewable energy trust fund using revenues generated by exploration in the deep ocean and on the Arctic coastal plain;

Eliminate barriers to the expansion of emission-free nuclear power production;

Permanently extend the tax credit for alternative energy production, including wind, solar and hydrogen;

Repeal the prohibition on government purchasing of alternative energy; and

Promote coal-to-liquids technology.

Since Speaker Pelosi shut down the U.S. House on Aug. 1 for a five-week break, House Republicans have taken our plan for more American-made energy directly to the American people – from the House floor, where we are talking with thousands of American citizens touring our nation’s Capitol to explain how we’re being denied a vote on the American Energy Act, to communities across the country, where we are promoting our “all of the above” energy strategy in our own neighborhoods.

But instead of joining us in our “American Energy Call to Arms,” Speaker Pelosi is telling her Democratic Caucus – many of whom support the same goals the American Energy Act would achieve – to try to have it both ways. She is on the record telling lawmakers that they should support a drilling plan while at home while assuring them she would never allow such a bill to come for a vote.

Instead, the Democratic leadership of the “Drill Nothing” Congress continues to peddle legislation that will not produce a single drop or watt of new American energy. Is that the type of leadership the American people expect from their leaders in Washington?

I’ve seen the American system work, and when the American people speak up and demand something, there is no way the Congress can defy them forever. Families and small businesses across America want more production of American energy to help lower gas prices, and that is just what Republicans are fighting for in our nationwide gas prices protest. Congress should get back to work, have a real debate on the American Energy Act, and put our “all of the above” energy strategy to work for families here in Ohio and across the country.

Pics From Butler County Airport Radio Controlled Air Show

TIB Network's Doug the Producer went to the Butler County Airport Radio Controlled Air Show today and snapped a few photos.

Butler County Mom Charged with Pimping her 11-Year-Old Daughter

The Cincinnati Enquirer has the story which includes this quote from Butler County Prosecuter and a Great American -- Robin Piper:

"What words express a mother taking an 11-year-old girl to someone for the purpose of having sex?" Piper said. "I don't know what word you use - appalling?"

Boehner Column: House Republicans, American People Protest “Drill-Nothing” Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives truly became the People’s House on Friday, August 1 when hundreds of American citizens and families joined Republicans on the House floor to protest Democratic leaders’ decision to send Congress home for a five-week break without voting on energy reform legislation.

This historic event was not just about gas prices; it was about the power of democracy. Throughout the summer, the Democratic leadership in the House had refused to allow a vote on legislation to help lower fuel costs and put us on the road to energy independence, despite widespread public support for such legislation among the American people. When Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) closed down the U.S. House for the five-week break on August 1 without an energy vote, House Republicans took to the Floor in protest. When the lights, microphones and cameras were shut off, we raised our voices to speak for the American people who for too long have been ignored by this "Drill-Nothing Congress.”

Rather than listen to the American people, Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are listening to radical special-interest groups that believe we’re better off with expensive gas because fewer people will be able to drive. When she was asked why she refuses to allow a vote on the energy reforms Americans want, this was the Speaker’s explanation: “I am saving the planet.”

But the notion that we have to choose between “saving the planet” and making America energy independent is false. I recently visited Northern Alaska, where energy production and wildlife have not only co-existed, but generally thrived together for decades. I saw firsthand that energy production can be done in a manner that protects the environment and the plants and animals that exist in such regions. It’s also notable that the people of northernmost Alaska – those who know the land best and care for it most – favor opening areas such as ANWR to careful, environmentally responsible drilling.

I prefer to help working families by lowering gas prices, creating American jobs and getting us off our addiction to foreign energy. Every year, we send $700 billion a year overseas to pay for our oil addiction. That money would be better spent here at home to create good-paying jobs. Twenty-five years ago, about 60 percent of the oil we used was produced here in America; today, just 25 percent of the oil we use is American. While some Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have called on Saudi Arabia to increase its production, I believe that more people agree with Republicans in calling for the United States to increase production.

House Republicans have introduced a comprehensive energy reform bill we call the American Energy Act. The American Energy Act calls for “all of the above” when it comes to the reforms needed to lower gas prices and liberate America from its dependence on foreign oil: more conservation, more alternative and renewable energy, and more production of American-made energy. It would accelerate the development and implementation of clean, renewable fuels; create new incentives for conservation and development of alternative energy sources; and lift the government ban on drilling in the frozen North Slope of Alaska and deepwater ocean energy zones far off the U.S. coast. We need to make use of these untapped American resources for affordable energy in the short-term as we work to develop and implement new, cleaner energy sources for the 21st Century.

I reject the notion that American families have to suffer with $4 and $5 per gallon gasoline before America can successfully transition to the widespread use of new, cleaner energy. And clearly the American people reject it too. The American people want Congress to take action on an “all of the above” energy reform strategy. It starts with a vote on the American Energy Act, which would pass with bipartisan support today if Speaker Pelosi would simply allow it to come to a vote. Unfortunately, to date, she has refused to allow such a vote to take place. That’s why House Republicans, joined by hundreds of American citizens, rose in protest on the House floor on August 1.

August 1 was a defining day for the U.S. House, and it will be remembered as the day the people took control and demanded action from their democratically elected representatives. While House Republicans stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the people, the Democratic leadership sent their Caucus home.

Judge Niehaus Dies of Heart Attack

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported this morning that Butler County Prosecuter Robin Piper had indicated that Judge David Niehaus of the Juvenile Court had passed away last night. The Journal-News adds that according to court officials, Niehaus died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 64.

This story will be updated over at WMD.

EnterTRAINment Junction

Matt Cunningham of the Journal-News has the story on the opening of EnterTRAINment Junction in West Chester. Be sure to also check out the photo and video galleries as well.

UPDATE: You can check out EnterTRAINment Junction on the web by clicking here. Currently, admission is $9.95 (everybody gets to be a kid again!) during the grand opening.