Still Blocking Vote on the American Energy Act, Speaker Pelosi Crafts "No Energy" Bill Loaded with Poison Pills
Dow Jones News: Instead Of Allowing Vote on All-of-the-Above Energy Reforms, Speaker to Load Bill With Killer Provisions “Dooming the Election-Year Effort to Failure”
Washington,
Aug 18, 2008 -
All year long, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has blocked a meaningful vote on the “all of the above” energy reforms the American people want – and she’s still blocking one. Congress’ five-week summer break continues to drag on – and there’s been no indication from the Speaker that she will allow an honest debate and vote on the comprehensive “all of the above” energy reforms Americans want even after Congress returns in September.
It is clear there’s been no change in Speaker Pelosi’s approach: she plans to continue defying the will of the American people by blocking an up-or-down vote on the American Energy Act (H.R. 6566), House Republicans’ “all of the above” bill to lower gas prices by increasing production of American energy, promoting more conservation and efficiency, and encouraging the use of more alternative and renewable fuels.
Instead of allowing a vote, the Speaker is employing a new tactic to block the will of the House and that of American families, seniors, and small businesses: drafting a new “plan” in secret, and loading it with enough poison pills to ensure its defeat – including expressly forbidding expanded energy production far off the shores of her own home state. Today’s Wall Street Journal has the latest:
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“It doesn’t allow drilling off California or the eastern coast of Florida, the [Democrat staff] said. Just a few weeks ago, the House speaker said Republican calls for a vote just on drilling was ‘a hoax on the American people.’”
“Discussions over the package are continuing. The draft proposal includes several measures that Republicans have already blocked in Congress …”
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Over the weekend, after the Speaker began outlining the Democrats’ latest “no energy” bill in a radio address, Dow Jones News Service confirmed that Rep. Pelosi is “dooming” the legislation to failure by loading it up with poison pills, pork, and tax hikes, noting, “While Pelosi’s proposal may offset frustration by voters who’ve made a pointed statement in recent polls supporting more offshore drilling, the Speaker is likely dooming the election-year effort to failure by including a number of provisions Republicans have balked at.”
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) criticized the “Drill-Nothing” Democrats’ latest attempt to defy the will of the American people:
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“If Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues were truly serious about increasing production of American energy and lowering the price of gasoline, they would call Congress back into session immediately to vote on our ‘all of the above’ energy plan, rather than taking a five-week break away from Washington. While the Speaker now claims to embrace a comprehensive energy plan that includes more conservation, more innovation, and more American energy production, the fact is her new effort appears to be just another flawed plan that will do little to lower gas prices.”
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As House Republicans begin their third full week of an unprecedented nationwide gas prices protest today, it has become perfectly clear that Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues are on the wrong side of public opinion on the most important issue facing the American people. And the Democratic Majority’s devotion to its radical, special interest allies ensures this won’t change anytime soon. In fact, despite being drafted behind closed doors, the Speaker’s secret plan has already been endorsed by one of its biggest special interest allies – the radical anti-energy organization that calls itself the Sierra Club, which is on record stating that America is “better off without cheap gas” and whose anti-American energy is a matter of public record.
In a column published yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kevin Ferris quotes from the Speaker’s new book, taking her to task for ignoring the calls of the American people for more environmentally-safe drilling by not allowing a simple up-or-down vote on the GOP’s “all of the above” bill to lower gas prices:
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[From the Speaker’s new book]: “America can achieve true greatness when we work together to make certain that every voice in America is a voice that will be heard.”
“Pelosi is definitely hearing voices – mostly from panicked Dems looking at the poll numbers on drilling. But will that lead to a vote?”
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If Americans are feeling skeptical about the Democrats’ latest energy scheme, don’t blame them. After doing everything in her power to block a vote on the American Energy Act, it is evident that the Speaker will continue to defy the American people for as long as it takes. In the end, gas prices – which have risen 60 percent on the Democrats’ watch – will remain high and home heating costs will follow suit this fall and winter. And families, seniors, small businesses, and schools will suffer – all thanks one anti-American energy tactic after another on Capitol Hill.
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