Today in Washington D. C. - July 15, 2008

The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and will resume consideration of the global AIDS relief bill (S. 2731). Roll call votes on amendments to the AIDS bill are expected throughout the day.
The White House: President Bush has scheduled a press conference for 10:20 this morning and is expected to veto the Medicare payments fix bill today.

From Senate & News Sources: As the markets continue to deal with the fallout from the failure of IndyMac bank, there are more questions than answers concerning why Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) leaked concerns about the bank’s health, which led to a run of depositors. The Wall Street Journal takes a dim view of Schumer’s explanations and describes his actions as “shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded bank.”

Americans also continue to demand action from Congress on high energy and gas prices. Investor’s Business Daily reports today on a new poll it conducted finding that of those polled “73% think ‘fuel prices at the pump’ are a bigger problem for the country than climate change.” The poll also reports that 64% favor offshore drilling and 65% favor development of Western oil shale. Little wonder, then, that The New York Times reports that “Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, faces an increasing uneasiness among his colleagues, who have signaled receptiveness to allowing more drilling.” Indeed, there have been statements from at least ten Senate Democrats expressing their newfound wiliness to consider offshore drilling.

With President Bush lifting the executive orders banning offshore drilling, this leaves only the prohibition on exploration by Congress. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Now the only thing standing between consumers at the pump and the increased American energy they are demanding is the Democrat leadership in Congress. We should act and act now.” Harry Reid’s hometown paper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, echoes this in an editorial today, saying “The ball is with Congress.”

Unfortunately, Democrat Congressional leadership has apparently doubled-down on their blind opposition to expanding American energy supplies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yet again felt she had to attack President Bush and oil companies, saying, “Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil. The Bush plan is a hoax.” And at a press conference, Reid declared that he would not allow the Senate to vote on offshore drilling. This prompted Sen. Pete Domenici, ranking Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to say Reid is “scared chicken” to let senators vote on energy production.

Both The Wall Street Journal and the Las Vegas Review-Journal admonish Democrats for their obstruction and knock down their excuses for opposing domestic energy production in editorials today. The American people are demanding action on gas prices. At noon, House and Senate Republicans will meet American citizens and representatives from Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions to receive the 1.3 million signatures on the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition. Congress is taking notice that Americans want energy solutions to “Find More and Use Less,” but people need to keep up the pressure, since Democrat Congressional leaders continue to oppose commonsense proposals to increase domestic energy supplies.

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