We have seen the consequences of inaction-an emboldened and more dangerous Iran.

We must immediately use all available political and economic means to hold Iran accountable for its nuclear, biological, chemical, and missile weapons programs, as well as for its state-sponsorship of terror.

We must use this bill H.R. 282 as leverage to secure cooperation from the international community beyond mere rhetorical commitments.

It provides us with the critical tool to address the multi-pronged threat Iran poses. The message that my colleagues have sent is clear: the time for action is now.  Inaction has brought us closer to the horrors that a nuclear Iran would bring.

Tony Snow’s appointment will work very well for Bush.  In the old days you needed a press secty who was skilled at handling the reporters.  So you chose a reporter.  Now you need one who can do that — as Snow can — but who also is a skilled and polished media performer.  Snow is a pro not just at reporting but at broadcasting and that will make all the difference
 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) attributed the recent surge in gas prices to “Republican corruption” in a speech delivered this morning.

The cost of Republican corruption when it comes to energy is hitting home very clearly for America’s middle class.  Whether it’s at the pump, or the price of home heating oil, or cooling as summer comes around, the American people are paying the price for the corruption in Washington, D.C.  Read the rest of this entry »

Over three years ago, when I spoke out against war in Iraq, I said that we needed to face more pressing issues and those that posed more serious threats, like Iran.

In the three years since, the threat from Iran has only grown more difficult and our capacity to meet that threat has diminished. Iran has elevated an apocalyptic president who exploits Iranian nationalist grievances to consolidate power and has openly expressed his desire to wipe Israel off the map. Our troops are bogged down in Iraq, placing them at the risk should Iran launch a wave of terrorism. We have done nothing to break our global dependency on oil, the control of which gives Iran its greatest ability to blackmail other countries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last year when gas prices hit record highs after Hurricane Katrina, House Republicans called the CEOs of the oil and gas companies to a closed-door meeting for an explanation. Apparently House Republicans thought that would be enough to get oil execs to stop price gouging. One of the CEOs Republicans met with was Exxon-Mobile’s chief executive Lee Raymond who just walked away with a $400 million retirement package. House Republicans voiced dismay as to why these CEOs didn’t get the message last fall.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) called on the House to pass legislation sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) that would implement sanctions in response to Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

But Madame Speaker, let me be clear on one point: Congress will no longer tolerate lax enforcement of American sanctions against Iran. For over a decade, both Democratic and Republican Administrations failed to implement the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act measures that we do have in place. Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear program has marched forward at a frighteningly rapid pace.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over this past district work period, there’s no doubt that Republicans and Democrats heard more than an earful from their constituents about the surging price of gas. In fact, at my town hall meetings I heard about 10 questions, four of which were on immigration, three were on gas prices, and the other were on district-specific issues.

Clearly I wasn’t alone. Evidence of the pain folks throughout America are feeling at the pump is the fact that when we all came back to Washington, both sides engaged in the “blame game” and started pointing fingers at each other.

Read the rest of this entry »

House Majority Leader John Boehner has called on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to answer several questions about the Democrats’ response to surging gas prices.

1. Will you and your Capitol Hill Democrats support comprehensive solutions designed to lower prices by increasing the supply of American energy and expanding our energy infrastructure in America? 

2. Will you and your Capitol Hill Democrats support responsible legislation supported by major labor organizations, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to increase domestic energy supplies to create jobs for their workers? 

3. Will you and your Capitol Hill Democrats support legislation to expand clean nuclear energy supplies and the use of renewable fuels? 

4. Will you and your Capitol Hill Democrats support responsible legislation to streamline the process of refinery expansion and construction that is so critical to the future of America’s energy infrastructure? 

5. Will you and your Capitol Hill Democrats support legislation to put Americans to work producing more of our own American energy to lower prices? 

Read the rest of this entry »

Meredith Kenny, a spokeswoman for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), provided this statement in response to Rep. Kucinich’s post regarding increasing gas prices.

Congressman Young is very concerned about the raising prices to fuel, especially being from Alaska where temperatures can reach -50 in the winter, and home heating is essential.  He believes that perhaps if the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been opened years ago, it could have helped alleviate this problem, and he will continue to push for exploration in ANWR.  To that end, he also is largely in favor of finding alternate methods of energy whether it be solar, hydro cell, etc., to wean the country off of their oil dependency. 

Congress Needs To Get Serious About Sky-High Gas Prices
Consumers nationwide are being gouged at the pump while the big oil and gas companies are reaping historic profits and Congress sits on its hands.

The only thing rising faster than the price of gasoline right now is the skyrocketing profits of the oil companies.

It is far past time, that Congress stands up for the consumer and not the big oil and gas companies. Last May, I introduced the Gas Price Spike Act.

The legislation is just as relevant –if not more relevant– today as it was the day I introduced it.

The Gas Price Spike Act (HR 2070) is the best, fastest, and most prudent intervention to quickly drop the price of gasoline and restore the integrity of the market.

HR 2070, will:

· Institute a windfall profit tax on gasoline and diesel. Such a tax is to be imposed on all industry profits that are above a reasonable profit level. This proposal would not increase the cost of gasoline because this proposal does not tax the price of gasoline. It only taxes excessive profits of refineries and distributors. Any attempt to increase prices to recover the lost revenue in taxes is simply taxed at 100% making the price increase worthless.

· Transfer the revenue from the windfall profits tax to Americans who would buy ultra efficient cars, made in America, with a tax credit. These will be made directly available to the purchaser of a car that traveled over 65 miles on a single gallon of gas. Today average cars get less than 30 miles per gallon.

· Establishes a broad based, far reaching program to promote mass rail transit inter- an intra- city. The bill makes funding available to regional transit authorities to offset significantly reduced mass transit fares during times of gas price spikes.

The Gas Price Spike Act currently has 40 co-sponsors.