As Energy Prices Rise, Obama Admin Policies Prevent Exploration and Senate Dems Push For Tax Hikes

Political Cartoon by Rob Smith

Today in Washington, D.C. - March 11, 2011:
Typical Friday when the Democrat Leader when want forcing a bill through the Senate - the Senate is in recess until 2 PM on Monday.  On Monday, the Senate will consider the nomination of James Boasberg to be a district judge for the District of Columbia and then cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 493, a bill dealing with small business investment.

Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) applauded the House for voting (H.R. 830) to begin shutting down the TARP bailout program, saving taxpayers $8 billion in mandatory government spending, with more savings to come. Speaker Boehner said: "The American people understand we can’t continue spending money we don’t have, especially on things that don’t work. That’s why we’re focusing not just on discretionary spending, but mandatory spending as well. Unfortunately, the Democrats who run Washington believe in this time of fiscal challenges we should continue propping up government programs that overspend and underdelived."

However, senior White House officials said they would recommend that President Obama veto this legislation that begins the process of shutting down the TARP bailout program and saves taxpayers $8 billion – the latest example of the Democrats who run Washington fighting for an unacceptable status quo. In a “Statement of Administration Policy,” the White House defends its veto threat by arguing the TARP program Republicans aim to eliminate with H.R. 830 is “vital to the Nation’s sustained economic recovery.” How many people have used this “vital” program? Only 44.

Despite the program’s failure, more than $8 billion in TARP funds have been set aside by the Administration to keep it going. That’s why, as the Washington Post reports, H.R. 830 “would terminate” this TARP program “and put the unused funds toward paying down the deficit.” With a $1.6 trillion deficit and a struggling economy, Washington can’t afford to keep spending money we don’t have on programs that don’t work.

President Obama Has just finished his introductory "speech" before the White House News Conference in an arrogant fashion promoting his biased positions. He is focused more on stopping Republicans reducing the size of government than on compromise with the Democrats. He mentioned Republican House Speaker Sen. John Boehner more times than Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid. He is definitely trying to backstop Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid. So far he has a list of press he will allow questions and appears to know the questions before asked. He definitely showed no support to allow Americans to Drill for Oil in our own country. No surprises here.

The current continuing resolution funding the government expires on March 18^th, so budget discussions will continue next week.  Yesterday, the Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Max Oliver Cogburn to be district judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

The Wall Street Journal reports today, “President Barack Obama will address rising energy prices at a news conference on Friday, but he is not expected to call for releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.” The New York Times adds, “The cost of gasoline has been rising steadily as the turmoil in Libya and other Middle East countries has caused worldwide concern about the availability of oil. As of this week, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $3.52 cents.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about energy issues in a floor speech yesterday, saying, “Americans looking at the price of gas at the pump these days are justifiably upset. What they may not realize is that some in the Administration are actively working to prevent us from increasing our own oil production here at home.”

Indeed, Leader McConnell explained, “The Administration started by canceling oil and gas leases for domestic exploration. Immediately after taking office, the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, canceled 77 oil and gas leases in the state of Utah. One year later, the Administration suspended 61 more leases, this time in Montana. . . . Then, immediately after the Gulf oil spill began last April, the Administration imposed a six-month moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf even as it canceled energy exploration that was set to take place thousands of miles away in the Arctic Ocean. Two federal courts on three separate occasions have declared the moratorium in the Gulf unjust. The Administration has ignored them. It’s kept the ban in place despite these rulings, forcing the drillers who’ve been affected by it to relocate their rigs — and the thousands of good-paying jobs they supported — to other parts of the world. So if you’re wondering where the jobs are, a good place to start is the Administration’s efforts to block American energy exploration.”

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats aren’t helping either. They’re pushing for a “minivan tax,” a $40 billion tax hike on energy producers that would without a doubt be passed on to consumers. Their timing could hardly be worse: gas and oil prices are increasing, unemployment remains high, and budgets are tight for many Americans.

As Senate GOP Leader McConnell said, “Rather than squeezing the public and killing jobs with artificially higher prices, we should be looking for ways to increase domestic production even as we promote alternative sources of energy for the future. An all-of-the-above approach to energy production — and the jobs that come with it — of the kind Republicans have been advocating for years would capitalize on the abundant resources we already have right here at home while at the same time looking for alternative sources of energy and new technologies that will free us from our dependence on fossil fuels down the road.”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., US House, US Senate, Barack Obama, tax hikes, oil drilling, TARP, Rob Smith, political cartoon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!