Get America Moving Again By Getting Out Of The Way -- Senate Republicans Blocking All Bills That Don't Address Drilling Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed. …

Following swift Senate action on the narrow energy bill, Reid wanted the Senate to approve a massive defense authorization bill, an overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, legislation to protect reporters’ sources, an extension of expiring energy tax incentives, and a major package of 33 bills held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

But Republicans are planning to keep the Senate on the energy issue until their demands are resolved. The massive housing-rescue package might be the only other measure that gets valuable floor time before the August recess.  (Hot Air)

Republicans could actually be serious about getting America moving again by getting out of the way!

House Republicans are strongly pushing The American Energy that is co-sponsored by our own Representative Don Manzullo (HR 6566).

There are even calls for the President to call congress back into session if they do not act before their recess, pulling a Truman:

Bush needs to do what Truman did in 1948. He needs to call a special 11-day session of Congress over the summer recess and force the Congress to come back to Washington (the recess is Aug.11-Sept.5th).
Bush could then deliver a message where he asks Congress to do their jobs - legislate (!!), for example:

(1) address the energy/gas crisis (i.e, offshore drilling and/or nuclear); and/or

(2) pass a budget — they have yet to pass one appropriations bill this year because as Pelosi and Reid admitted — they are waiting for Obama to become president to do a budget, which btw — is simply irresponsible and wrong.

I believe that the Democrats would whine and not pass a thing. Then Bush and McCain could hammer them for being a "do-nothing Congress." Moreover, McCain has the experience legislating to show up Obama in the Senate during a special session — it's his turf and I think he could make Obama look foolish.

I believe it would work because (a) congressional approval is lower than the president's approval (by about 20 points); (b) Rasmussen's tracking poll shows that the Democratic advantage on the "generic ballot" has decreased in each of the last 5 weeks (people are tired of blaming Bush); and (c) Pelosi is not liked at all (people will readily transfer their angst about the government to her).

It would do wonders for his popularity and if it backfires he really has nothing much to lose.
DKK

Congress Takes Constitutional Action To Avoid Unpredictable Supreme Court

It seems that both the majority and minority leadership in the Senate, along with their counterparts in the House, is concerned about the current makeup of the Supreme Court — especially the unpredictable nature of Justice Kennedy - and the uncertainty as to what the future holds in store in terms of possible appointments by the next President.  To address this issue they chose to insert language into the FISA legislation which states that for the next five years, any litigation involving two or more states shall be submitted to Congress rather than the judiciary, and the outcome of the dispute will be determined by a vote of both houses, with the congressional delegations of each state involved in the dispute disqualified from voting.  The disposition of the dispute as established by the vote must also be agreed to by the President for it to be binding on the states involved.

This constitutional move was inserted into the FISA legislation at the last minute.  Most likely to avoid having the Supreme Court decide the gay marriage issue.

While this might ensure some stability for the short term on this issue, does this action remove an arrow from McCain's quill as the election approaches?  I don't think so.  I think the courts will remain a big issue for both sides.
DKK
Patterico --Apparently, there was a curious little provision tucked away into the FISA legislation that went unnoticed before the bill was signed yesterday by President Bush.

Ah The Good Old Days When Congress Approval Was In Double Digit Range!

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

DKK
Rasmussen Reports

‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind,’ -- Brave Democrats Long Awaited Energy Plan

Democrats in Congress promised to make energy policy a high priority when they returned after the Independence Day break.  Instead, they have quietly scrubbed the schedule of any votes on their energy bill, afraid Republicans will make them vote on increased domestic oil production and force them to choose between popular sentiment for drilling and their environmentalist allies.  Their strategy?  Well, the Hill chooses a good quote:

“Right now, our strategy on gas prices is ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind,’ ” said a Democratic aide.

DKK
Hot Air -- Dems Retreat On Energy, Wait For The Wind

So Nancy, How's That Energy Plan Going? What, Still Nothing But Roadblocks, Typical.

In May 2007, Nancy Pelosi announced amid great fanfare that the Democrats had made July 4, 2007 Energy Independence Day.  Castigating George Bush for his inaction on energy policy, Pelosi noted that gas prices had reached record levels and that the newly-enacted Democratic majority would take charge of energy policy to take back the leadership from “Big Oil”.  Pay close attention to the chart behind Pelosi at the beginning:

Their stated accomplishment was the ethanol debacle and the elimination of drilling tax credits.   Nothing that, in the real world, would help.

Since then gas has risen 60%.

See the video at Hot Air.
DKK

Who Is Ultimately Responsible For High Gas Prices -- So That's Why We Can't Get A Compromise

Bottom line:

Democrats blame YOU!

Hence their solutions are designed to punish and rehabilitate each and every one of us!
"It's your fault so you must pay and change!"

Republicans blame Government.

Hence their solutions are designed to get Government out of the way and let Americans
do what Americans do best!
"We can solve this problem without starving the world or some other stupid government run debacle if you just get out of the way!"

Extended explanation:

There is a fundamental difference between the belief of the Democrats and the Republicans in Washington about who is ultimately responsible for today's high gas prices and this difference is why a compromise is so hard to reach on this issue.

Democrats make noise about blaming the oil companies, the speculators, the Saudi's and of course the Republicans. But the Democrats underlying belief, deep down, is that the ultimate responsibility for our current energy situation falls squarely on the every single resident of the United States! (This should be no surprise to any observer of history over the last 45 years or so.)

That's right, you and I, your neighbor and even their infant child!

You use too much, don't conserve, are wasteful, and fat too -- if you would walk more you would use less energy and maybe loose some of that butt you have!

Barack Obama, Sunday, May 18, 2008,

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times..."

That is why their solutions are all punitive. Tax increases, increased regulation, forced change, even outlawing incandescent light bulbs. These are all punishing roadblocks and attempts at social engineering.

On the other hand Republicans believe that the ultimate responsibility for high gas prices lies with Government.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.
Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address

Thus their solutions involve eliminating restrictions and getting government out of the way.

The American people need to send a message to the Democrats in congress, loud and clear, that we are not to blame -- THEY ARE. We can't afford to let this continue!

As Jean Kirkpatrick said back in 1984, "(T)hey always blame America first. The American people know better."

Until the Democrats understand this they will not allow the American people the freedom to do what Americans do best -- solve the problem using hard work and ingenuity.
DKK

The USA Is The Saudi Arabia of ...Oil -- Congress Won't Let Exxon Get To It

Energy: Exxon Mobil's CEO says his energy company's "corporate social responsibility" is to produce more energy. While Congress wants to tax oil profits, he wants to spend them to find more oil.

While some companies like British Petroleum run endless ads touting their capitulation to the global warming religion by saying they are "beyond" petroleum, Exxon Mobil has been refreshingly unapologetic about developing the resources beneath our feet and making money doing it.

Speaking to reporters after the annual meeting of Exxon stockholders Wednesday, CEO Rex Tillerson shoved political correctness aside and insisted the science on climate change is not settled and "that to not have a debate on it is irresponsible" and that to "suggest we know everything about these issues is irresponsible."

(...)

According to the Institute for Energy Research, "The United States has 2 trillion barrels of oil shale. This is more than 7 times the amount of crude oil reserves found in Saudi Arabia, and is enough to meet current U.S. demand for over 250 years."

Out west we may have what could be called a "Persia on the Plains."

A Rand Corporation study says the Green River Formation, which covers parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, has the largest known oil shale deposits in the world, holding from 1.5 to 1.8 trillion barrels of crude.

Of that, some 800 billion barrels are recoverable with current technology — roughly triple Saudi Arabia's current known reserves.

Nick Loris of the Heritage Foundation says: "If full-scale production begins within five years, the U.S. could completely end its dependence on OPEC by 2020." That's quite a forecast, given that nearly a half of our oil today comes from that monopoly.

Indeed, there is enough North American petroleum trapped in oil sands and shale rock to form our own OPEC.

While OPEC, the Saudis, and even the U.S. Congress are telling us to pound sand, at least one U.S. company wants to get energy from it.

The Democrats in Congress would rather tax the oil companies then allow them to use those profits to drill for our own oil!

Foolish Washington that keeps costing you every day.

By the way, we are the Saudi of Coal also -- WTF is our government stopping us from using our own resources.
DKK
IBD -- Getting Oil From A Stone

Congress Is To Blame For Current Oil Prices

Despite its pious denunciations of the behavior of U.S. investor-owned oil companies (IOCs), Congress by its actions over the years has ensured the economic viability of the national oil company cartel.

It has done so by preventing the exploitation by IOCs of reserves available in nonpark federal lands in the West, Alaska and under the waters off our coasts. These areas hold an estimated 635 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas – enough to meet the needs of the 60 million American homes fueled by natural gas for over a century. They also hold an estimated 112 billion barrels of recoverable oil – enough to produce gasoline for 60 million cars and fuel oil for 25 million homes for 60 years.

This doesn't even include substantial oil shale resources economically recoverable at oil prices substantially lower than those prevailing today. In an exchange between Sen. Orin Hatch (R., Utah) and John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company during the May 21 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the point was made that anywhere from 800 million to two trillion barrels of oil are available from oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

If Congress really cared about the economic well-being of American citizens, it would stop fulminating against IOCs and reverse current policies that discourage, indeed prohibit, the production of domestic oil and natural gas. Even the announcement that Congress was opening the way for domestic production would lead to downward pressure on oil prices.

DKK

Wall Street Journal --Blame Congress for High Oil Prices

Oil Hearing Summary -- No New Drilling Means No Solution!

Mark Steyn on the hearings and the law passed by the house last week that allowed the Justice Department to sue OPEC:

Er, okay. But, before we start suing distant sheikhs in exotic lands for violating the NOPEC act, why don’t we start by suing Congress? After all, who “limits the production or distribution of oil” right here in the United States by declaring that there’ll be no drilling in the Gulf of Florida or the Arctic National Mosquito Refuge? As Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz herself told Neil Cavuto on Fox News, “We can’t drill our way out of this problem.”

With this gem!

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz knew the routine: “I can’t say that there is evidence that you are manipulating the price, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not.”
Had I been in the hapless oil man’s expensive shoes, I’d have answered, “Hey, you first. I can’t say that there is evidence that you’re sleeping with barnyard animals, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not.

Maxine Waters(D-CA) threatened to, "Sociali..." she meant nationalize -- the oil companies! (Via Gateway Pundit)

John Hoffmeister from Shell Oil: I can guarantee to the American people because of the inaction of the United States Congress ever increasing prices unless the demand comes down and the five dollars will look like a very low price in the years to come if we are prohibited from finding new reserves and new opportunities to increase supplies.

Rep. Maxine Waters: And, guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be about socializing... uh, will be about, basically taking over and the government running all of your companies.

Our oil companies, as large as they are are very small players in the total world oil market -- most of which is controlled by nations hostile to the US. Powerline notes:

I hadn't realized, until the hearings on energy that were held this week in House and Senate committees, that the United States doesn't have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies--all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies--that dominate the world's oil supply.
(...)
The United States--unlike, say, France--actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democratic Party--aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans--deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development.

DKK

What Was The Democrat Strategy in 2006? Lie To Fools!

Transcript:
"I'll tell you my impression. We really in this last election, when I say we...the Democrats, I think pushed it as far as we can to the end of the fleet, didn't say it, but we implied it. That if we won the Congressional elections, we could stop the war. Now anybody was a good student of Government would know that wasn't true. But you know, the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts...and people ate it up."
DKK

Schumer's Magic Oil

In a Senate floor speech he gave on May 13^th, the New York Democrat insisted that:

"If Saudi Arabia were to increase its production by 1 million barrels per day that translates to a reduction of 20 percent to 25 percent in the world price of crude oil, and crude oil prices could fall by more than $25 dollar per barrel from its current level of $126 per barrel. In turn, that would lower the price of gasoline between 13 percent and 17 percent, or by more than 62 cents off the expected summer regular-grade price - offering much needed relief to struggling families. "

Schumer repeated these words almost verbatim when grilling oil company executives during yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.

Yet Schumer's daily magic number of 1 million barrels is the exact increase experts believe we would today be pumping through the Alyeska pipeline had Bill Clinton not vetoed ANWR drilling back in 1995. And even the most rabid anti-domestic-drilling Democrats don't take issue with that figure.

So then, the increase he demands of "Bush's friends," the Saudis - which he claims would reduce prices by up to 25 percent -- is the exact amount he argued earlier this month would only "reduce the price of oil by a penny" were it coming from ANWR - eco-sacred breeding ground of the Porcupine Caribou.

The Democrats have done everything they can to make energy more expensive for the American consumers. Will this word filter out past the MSM? I wouldn't want to be a Democrat in Congress when it does. Do they still make tar and feathers? I'll let you know if gas hits , what, $7/gallon.
DKK
American Thinker Blog -- How much have the Democrats cost you at the pump?

Manzullo Release -- Export Modernization

U.S. House Approves Sherman-Manzullo Bill to Modernize Export Controls, Strengthen National Security, Create Jobs

Washington, May 15 -

The U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation co-authored by Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) that would modernize the federal government’s inefficient export control policy by strengthening national security and helping American companies sell more defense-related goods and services overseas to our allies.

Sponsored by Manzullo and Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), the Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 4246), as amended, became Subtitle A of Title I of the Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of 2008 (H.R. 5916), a broader international security assistance bill approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee last month. Manzullo is also an original co sponsor of H.R. 5916.

Title I of H.R. 5916 directs the State Department to hire more staff, reducing the massive backlog of license applications that impedes legitimate trade with our allies and bolstering national security. Today, the State Department has only 42 licensing officers. By 2010, this legislation requires adequate staff and resources at the State Department to review and process defense trade licenses in a timely manner.

“This legislation streamlines the process, reduces the application backlog, and allows greater scrutiny on sensitive exports that could harm our country,” Manzullo said. “I strongly encourage the Senate to pass this bill as soon as possible so the President can sign it into law quickly. It would better protect our nation while helping U.S. companies sell more goods and services to our allies, creating more jobs for Americans.”

The Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2008 (Title I of H.R. 5916) remedies many of the deficiencies in the licensing of defense trade by:

Directing the Secretary of State to review the U.S. export control system within 18 months and offer recommendations to strengthen controls, improve efficiency, and reduce redundancies across federal agencies;

Requiring the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to have at least 1 licensing officer for every 1,250 applications by Fiscal Year 2010 to prevent future backlogs;

Requiring the DDTC to assign no less than 3 individuals by Fiscal Year 2009 to review applications for commodity jurisdiction determinations;

Creating a performance goal of no longer than 60 days to process a defense trade license;

Creating a performance goal of no longer than 30 days to process a defense trade license for close allies;

Establishing a 7 day processing time for defense trade licenses from our close allies in support of combat operations or peacekeeping or humanitarian operations with U.S. Armed Forces;

Increasing the transparency of commodity jurisdiction determinations with publication of those decisions on the Internet;

Creating a special licensing authorization for U.S. manufactured spare and replacement parts or components in connection with defense items previously lawfully exported to our close allies;

Requiring a report within 90 days on possible means for DDTC to achieve 100 percent self-financing;

Increasing the representation and augmenting the input of the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) into the State Department’s defense trade agenda;

Adding South Korea and Israel to the list of NATO+3 countries receiving expedited consideration for the export of U.S. defense items.

DKK
Representative Don Manzullo