HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Jul 29, 2008 - In an interview this morning on FOX News’ America’s Newsroom, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) repeated his demand for a vote to lower gasoline prices before Democratic leaders send Congress home for the month of August and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to stop blocking an up-or-down vote.  Boehner also highlighted the House GOP American Energy Act (H.R. 6566) to increase production of American-made energy and help lower gas prices.   Full video and transcript of the interview follow:

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MEGYN KELLY:  Republican Congressman and House Minority Leader, from Ohio, John Boehner joins me now.  Good morning Congressman.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH):  Megyn, good morning.

KELLY:  Thank you for being here.  So, OK, there is a bill that would address some of these issues like drilling offshore.  Nancy Pelosi and the House says it’s not going to get a vote before the recess.  You don’t think there should be a recess.

BOEHNER:  I do not think there should be a recess.  The American people want us to do something about a high-price gasoline, the high price of energy.   The only way really to effect the price, really is to do all of the above.  We need to conserve more, we need biofuels, we need alternative sources of energy, we need nuclear power, and, yes, we need to produce more American made oil and gas in an environmentally-safe way and we can do that.  We introduced a bill last week, the American Energy Act.  What we’ve been asking the Speaker for eight weeks now is a vote.  And we don’t think the Congress ought to go on summer recess at the end of this week without voting on the American energy plan.

KELLY:  Your position is you have got the votes to pass this thing, you just cannot get to the House floor because Speaker Pelosi says she is not bringing it.

BOEHNER:  I do think we have the votes in both the House and the Senate.  But it is Speaker Pelosi, it’s Harry Reid, it’s Barack Obama who want no part of allowing the Congress to work its will on a vote that would produce more American-made oil and gas.  They’re absolutely opposed to drilling.  They worship at the altar of radical environmentalists.  That is why they have been blocking this vote, but the American people can help.  All they have to do is call their Member of Congress, their Senator, and say don’t leave until you have a vote on this bill.

KELLY:  Here’s what the Speaker said.  I have it here so bear with me while I read it.  She said when pressed on what she’s not allowing this to go for a vote, “I am trying to save the planet.  I am trying to save the planet.  I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse,” meaning Republicans, “for their failed policy.”  Any response?

BOEHNER:  Megyn, for 25 years, Democrats have blocked more American-made oil and gas.  That is why we are in the predicament we are in.  That is why 70 percent of our energy comes from overseas.  And she has time to go out and promote her book tour and her new book, but she does not have time to schedule a vote on the floor of the House and let the American people have their will expressed.  I mean, we got elected to Congress to go there and represent our constituents.  They want us to vote on more American-made oil and gas.  We want to do that.  She, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama are standing in the way.

KELLY:  You say that number one, this is a defining week for the Congress.  But you say that the reason the Democrats are not allowing this to come to a vote is because of, and I quote, “a band of radical special interest groups that support high gas prices.”  What do you mean by that?

BOEHNER:  Well, if you listen to Barack Obama during the primaries, you know, he didn’t think $5 gas was all that bad.  He just was upset that it got there so quickly.  And what you’ve got, you’ve got a bunch of radical environmentalists who think that we ought to have higher gasoline prices so that Americans will drive less and that we will wean ourselves off oil by putting cars away.  That is not what the American people want.  They want a reasonable approach to our energy problems.  And the way to do that is to do all of the above.  That is the American energy plan.

KELLY:  Do you think this is what Congress has such low approval ratings because our viewers are watching this here.  You’ve got the votes you think in both Houses to pass this thing.  We’re in, some would say we’re in an energy crisis, and you cannot even get a bill to come to a vote on the House floor because, you know, you’re basically getting the thumb of the nose from the Democrats who control things.

BOEHNER:  Yes, we have been through this before.  It is a legislative way to avoid a vote.  They’ve shut down the appropriations process in the House and the Senate because they are afraid that a member may pass a pro-drilling vote on an appropriation bill.  They’re trying to run out the clock.  We’re only going to be there this week.  We’re only there three weeks in September.  And they’re hoping to get out of town before anybody notices.

KELLY:  I think the American people are going to notice.  You’re doing your best to make sure that happens.  House Minority Leader John Boehner, thank you for being here.

BOEHNER:  Thanks, Megyn.

READ MORE:

• Pelosi vs. America: “I’m Trying to Save the Planet” by Defying the Will of the American People (7/29/08)
• Out-of-Touch Speaker Pelosi Calls America's Strong Support for More Drilling “A Hoax” (7/28/08)
• Boehner Op-Ed on Real Clear Politics: A Defining Week for Congress (7/28/08)
• Will Rank-and-File Dems Take an August Vacation Without a Vote to Lower Gas Prices? (7/28/08)