Terry Everett, March 28, 2005

America runs on energy. It is the engine that drives our economy and its past abundance and affordability have directly contributed to the nation's quality of life through generally lower prices for goods and travel. Unfortunately, we are experiencing firsthand the cold hard fact that our supply of energy is not unlimited. America no longer has the luxury of waiting to pass a national energy policy to increase our fuel options.

Rising energy prices are more than just a news story, they are biting anyone in America who drives an automobile, eats food, heats and cools their home or place of business, or buys any goods or service. Most obvious to each of us is the increase of gasoline pump prices. In southeast Alabama, gas is topping $2.10 a gallon for regular unleaded. In states where gasoline is reformulated with expensive blends to make it more environmentally friendly, prices are now well above $3.00 a gallon.

Truth is, these gas pains are nothing new. The volatility in the world oil market due to political unrest, compounded by the fact that crude oil is being consumed at an ever increasing rate by countries like China and India, mean gas prices are likely to remain at near record levels. Recent natural disasters like Hurricane Ivan which disrupted oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, and accidents like last week's explosion at a major BP refinery near Houston, Texas underscore the fragility of our energy supply.

What can be done to reverse this negative impact on our economy? For starters, we can adopt a national energy policy to increase domestic production and promote the development of cheaper alternative fuels. This seems like a common sense measure. However, the U.S. House has passed an energy bill three times over the last two years only to see it die in the U.S. Senate. The most recent example is the Energy Policy Act of 2004 (HR 4503) which passed the U.S. House last June but got no further.

I have supported and continue to advocate a national energy strategy that decreases America's over dependence on foreign oil by increasing environmentally sound, in-country oil and gas exploration. We must explore the possibility of oil development in non-park Federal lands, including Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), as well as natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

I also favor an energy strategy that encourages clean coal technology and provides incentives for renewable energy sources like biomass, wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectricity. I favor a strategy that improves our nation's electricity transmission capacity and reliability and encourages the launching of a state-of-the-art program to enable hydrogen fuel cell cars to compete in the marketplace by 2020.

Again, these goals are not new. They are the key points of energy bills that I have voted for and which passed the House since 2003 only to hit a brick wall in the U.S. Senate. However, I am encouraged by the Senate's March 16 vote to allow oil and gas exploration in ANWR and hope this is the beginning of a long-anticipated serious approach in Congress to tackle America's energy needs.

The Senate leadership deserves credit for placing the ANWR amendment in the annual budget resolution - a necessary parliamentary move which prevented liberals from filibustering (or blocking) the energy measure. We need such bold action to advance an energy bill to benefit America.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.