Last week, major oil companies announced sky-high profits during a summer of sky-high prices at the pump. Oil giant Exxon Mobil shattered its own record for the highest quarterly profit for an American company in history, with Shell and other big oil companies following close behind.

Yet here in Illinois’ 10th district, drivers are paying over $4.00 for a gallon of regular gas with no relief in sight. Wherever I go, it’s one of the top questions I get. Voters want to know when Congress will finally do something about gas prices and what I would do to help lower them.

Today’s grandstanding on the floor of Congress was just another example of how Washington has been heavy on rhetoric, and short on solutions. What we need are representatives who will be honest about the energy crisis and tell Americans that while we must continue to produce oil, it would take years to see the benefit of new drilling.

In the short-term, we can offer consumers relief by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and requiring oil companies to drill on the millions of acres of land they currently own, measures that have both been blocked by the same group of Congressmen who are protesting high gas prices today. We’ve had enough empty promises from politicians who promise a quick fix; it’s time we get serious about investing in a new energy policy to reduce our dependence on oil.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am and is filed under Uncategorized .