Last weekend I had the opportunity to witness first-hand some real solutions to help lower gasoline prices and energy costs for families and small businesses.  Ten of my house Republican colleagues and I travelled through the Rocky Mountain West on the way to Alaska on an American Energy Tour.  What we saw further opened our eyes to the challenges, and opportunities, which make up America’s energy future.

Our trip began on Friday with a visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.  NREL 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.  For a look at another critical component of that strategy, we departed for Alaska.

While in Alaska we learned two valuable lessons that will further embolden our fight in Congress for more production of American energy.  First, we learned that the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, which carries petroleum from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope to the Gulf of Alaska, is in decline. Officials in Alaska warned us that in 10 years, if the pipeline continues its current rate of decline in transporting oil supplies, the pipeline will be processing less than 300,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to nearly 720,000 today.  Experts agree that at that level — without adding new supplies of oil — the pipeline could not continue to operate, shutting down all production in the North Slope and turning a multi-billion dollar asset into scrap metal. It’s a “pipeline deadline,” if you will.

Secondly, we learned that wildlife can successfully coexist, and flourish, within close proximity to environmentally-safe energy production thanks to new technologies in use by energy companies. While in the North Slope area we saw plenty of wildlife.  Caribou, musk ox, and other native species where everywhere – including our runway as we attempted to depart from the small airport near Prudhoe Bay.  Those on the Left who cite these companies’ “insensitivity” as a reason for stonewalling more production in the region either suffer from a complete misunderstanding of the issue or are purposely twisting the facts. And either way, it’s the American people — not to mention North Slope residents who depend upon energy production for jobs — who suffer the consequences.

The American public and an increasing number of rank-and-file Democrats are demanding that Speaker Pelosi schedule a real vote to increase American energy production.  Her response to CNN recently: “I have no plans to do so.”  House Republicans will continue this fight every single day, but let’s be clear: Only Speaker Pelosi and her liberal Democratic colleagues are standing in the way of lower gasoline prices for the American people.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am and is filed under Politics, Energy/Environment .