On my farm I have to use about 3,000 gallons of diesel each year. Like most Americans, I don’t have other options. And that’s why we’re paying three bucks for gas while CEOs are making $400 million bonuses. Three-dollar gas isn’t good for this farmer, it’s not good for Montana and it’s not good for America.

It’s going to take some hard work, research and innovation, but we will get more choices. And renewable energy is going to be a big part of the picture, especially in my state. In Montana, we’ve got a huge potential for developing alternative energy like biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol and wind power.

It’s a win-win-win situation. Calibrating our potential for alternative energy in America will not only lead to cheaper fuel, it will secure our country and help conserve resources for our future generations.

In this video, Georgetown student and video blogger James Kotecki interviews presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) from his dorm room. Kotecki touts the video as the first ever dorm room interview with a presidential candidate.

In it, Paul espouses a foreign policy of non-intervention, says it “annoys [him] to no end” that politicians consider attacking Iran, and criticizes Congress for ignoring the Constitution and abating individual liberties. Find the video below.

Today, the price of a college education is getting to be on par with that of a home purchase.  Now it has come to light that families may not be getting the best deal for their money but instead may be being steered to lenders that have set up financial deals with universities.  Underlying goals must be to provide students with adequate financial aid and loans, while not crippling them with debt upon graduation.  Paying for a college education is one of the largest financial commitments we undertake, and we must ensure that students and their parents are getting the right information to make an informed decision.

Sen. Domenici (R-N.M.) and I worked together to ensure that the immigration caseload crisis in U.S. District Courts will be resolved in a timely manner. The American people overwhelmingly are calling for comprehensive immigration reform, and HR.1909 and Sen. Domenici’s companion bill will contribute to that reform. It is our responsibility in Congress to make sure that we pass good, workable legislation to address the problems at our nation’s international borders.

It gives me no pleasure to vote against a bill that includes many programs I have been advocating since Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.  In the end, the restrictions this bill places on our men and women in uniform, and the process that was abused to buy its passage, gave me no other choice.  I cannot vote for a bill that ties the hands of our troops in the field.

Sadly, it took more than eleven weeks for Democratic leaders to return this bill after the President submitted his emergency spending request.  This Washington game of partisan squabbling does nothing to address the responsibility of this Congress to support our men and women in uniform.  Now faced with a Presidential veto and the votes in Congress to sustain it, no progress has been made in advancing the important provisions in this bill for Louisiana’s recovery or our soldiers in the field.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle often talk about their commitment to Gulf Coast recovery.  If they are serious about this commitment, it is time for them to send the President an emergency spending bill that is worthy of both the sacrifices of the victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina and the brave dedication of our men and women in uniform.

Since 1971, when our nation’s military became an all volunteer force, a law was enacted that required military pay rates to be “reasonably comparable” to those in the private sector with similar skills, education, and experience.  Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints over the years, the military’s pay increase has not always met this criteria and a “pay gap” was created.  This gap is not only unfair to our brave men and women in uniform, it also has raised retention and readiness concerns.

For this reason, I have introduced H.R. 2027, the Military Pay Improvement Act, which would give them a much-needed pay raise.  My bill seeks to further narrow the gap between the military and private sector pay scales.  Specifically, my bill would ensure that the minimum Fiscal Year 2008 increase for uniformed service members’ basic pay would be 3.5%. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, we observed Equal Pay Day to remind people that men and women still receive unequal pay for the same work.  This is not a Democratic or Republican issue, but an American issue and an issue about fairness.  Progress has certainly been made, but much more must be done to ensure that the wage gap becomes history.

It has been thirty-four years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law in 1963, and yet women still earn significantly less than men for doing the same work.  This is wrong.  Unequal pay not only hurts women, it also hurts husbands, children and families by lowering family incomes.

In 1963, women who worked full-time, year-round made 59 cents on average for every dollar earned by men.  In 2006, women only earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.  While I am encouraged by the progress, it remains excruciatingly slow – with the wage gap narrowing by less than half a cent per year.  Read the rest of this entry »

Our current tax policy values wasteful and dirty energy generation over clean, renewable technology. This session, Congress has the ability to reform our tax system to spur innovation, save energy, and make our communities more livable.

I am currently working on several pieces of legislation to use the tax code to promote carbon neutral and environmentally positive policies.

Last month, I introduced H.R. 1772, the Rural Wind Energy Development Act. This legislation would provide an investment tax credit to help individuals offset the high upfront cost of installing a small wind turbine, which creates clean, renewable energy. Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to repeal the Internet gambling ban Bush signed in October.

The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, introduced Thursday in the House, would create a federal regulatory network to oversee Internet gambling and would require a licensing fee from gambling sites, giving the federal government an opportunity to generate revenue.

“The fundamental issue here is a matter of individual freedom,” Frank said, adding that Internet gamblers harm no one and calling the current ban misguided. “No member of Congress ought to arrogate to himself or herself the right to censure the leisure time activities of other people.”

Any realistic discussion of today’s political climate must revolve around the fact that the current Majority is refusing to work in any meaningful way with the Administration and the Minority party.

The other side of the aisle, with a few exceptions, wants to cover their ears and not listen to the facts. They would rather pretend that they know what is going on in Iraq, rather that hear the truth from General Petraeus. The situation in Iraq is a dynamic and ever changing one, and after Wednesday’s briefing [with Petraeus] it is more clear to me than ever that we must resist arbitrary deadlines to our fight in Iraq. But my Democrat colleagues would rather play politics with our men and women in the field and score a few points for the far left wing of their party. They would rather play politics on the Floor than work to pass meaningful legislation.

I ask the Majority Leader and the other side of the aisle to put politics aside and do the right thing –- work in a truly bipartisan manner to do what the American people expect us to do. Read the rest of this entry »