Congressman Bill Sali Radio Address
August 22, 2008

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TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, I’m Congressman Bill Sali. It is my great honor and privilege to represent Idaho’s 1st Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.

In Idaho, high gas prices are causing hardships that are very real and very substantial. Idahoans have written to tell me that they have a job, but they can't afford the gas to get to work, or to the store or to school. And there are no real alternatives because in rural states like Idaho, our ability to travel to work – or anywhere else – depends entirely on the price of gas. Distances are just too great for public transportation to work in rural areas.  We have to drive.  For large numbers of Idahoans, the daily commute to work is and probably always will be a two-lane mountain road.

Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leaders in Washington have and are steadfastly refusing to allow a vote to increase American production of American crude oil and natural gas. On-shore-drilling, off-shore drilling, developing our vast oil shale resources, encouraging use of coal-to-liquids technology – Speaker Pelosi’s Congress has said no to all of it.

What’s worse, earlier this month, Democrats sent Congress on a five-week vacation without holding a debate or a vote on a comprehensive energy plan of any kind. That’s why roughly 130 House Republicans have headed back to Washington this month – even with the lights dimmed and the microphones shut off – to speak out against this monumental abdication of leadership on the part of Speaker Pelosi.

There’s no one silver bullet that will make our energy crisis go away. The answer is a balanced, “all of the above” strategy – alternative energy, more conservation, and increased production. To that end, House Republicans have proposed the American Energy Act – which puts all of our resources on the table so we can ease the pain at the pump and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.  

Across the board, polls show that American people, hurting from having their budgets stretched to the limit, agree with this “all of the above” approach. As a recent headline in The Wall Street Journal put it: “Voters Want Everything On Energy.”

Speaker Pelosi should reconvene Congress now so we can get to work and pass this comprehensive “all of the above” legislation.  Idahoans are tired of waiting for Congress to take the steps needed to lower gas prices.

America became a prosperous country by using energy – and a lot of it. If we want a prosperous future for our kids and grandkids, we need to get our hands on every bit of energy we can from every source possible. It must be comprehensive and include alternative energy and conservation.  And yes, it must also include drilling here in America and drilling now.

I’m Congressman Bill Sali. On behalf of the people of Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, thank you for listening.