As residents of Santa Clara County, you may be wondering what your elected congress members are doing to constructively and urgently address the energy crisis. With the price of gasoline well over $4.00 all over the Bay Area, it is reasonable to expect that our elected representatives would be hard at work developing constructive solutions that would result in short term reductions in energy costs and long term independence from fossil fuels and, in particular, foreign oil.
A quick survey of the website of each member of congress serving our county demonstrates a disappointing grasp of reality at best and a discouraging expectation for any improvement in the energy situation any time soon, if left to Congressional Democrats.
So, in the category of “What have you done for me lately, honorable Congressperson?”, here’s what we found.
Congressman Mike Honda Congressman Honda’s home page offers this: “
Tips for keeping cool and reducing our energy usage”. Wading further into the “Issues” section of the website, we find his thinking on energy has not been updated since 2006. So, apparently, this is a hot issue for the Congressman.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren Congresswoman Lofgren is also on the SPR bandwagon. She promotes the suspension of filling the SPR to provide more oil to the commercial market. She also touts a bill that the House passed that would allow lawsuits against the oil companies for price gouging. How either of these actions will result in either short or long term relief at the gas pump or energy independence is unclear.
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo Helloooo, Anna! Have you heard that there is an energy crisis? One would not think so by looking at the Congresswoman’s website. Nothing on the home page refers to energy, nor are there any press releases in 2008 detailing her comments or ideas about how to solve the issue. But, you’ll be happy to know that she has introduced the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM Act) to address loud commercials on television.
Congressman Jerry McNerney Congressman McNerney is also on the SPR bandwagon. Yes, releasing those 3 days worth of oil should fix things right up. But, just in case that is not sufficient, you may want to check out Rep. McNerney’s “
tips on conserving gas and getting more out of each tank”, highlighted on his home page. In Congressional District 11, we have a great opportunity to replace Jerry McNerney with Dean Andal, who deserves the support of all Republicans in the Bay area.
If you want to know what the Democrats are proposing to “solve” the energy issue, our local representatives are providing a window into the complete lack of creative and proactive thinking. In contrast, take a look at Senator McCain’s Lexington Project Proposal offers realistic short and long term actions that will make a difference. In particular, Senator McCain advocates increased drilling in the US as part of a solution.
In contrast, most Democrats prefer to perpetuate a variety of myths about practical approaches such as more drilling and nuclear energy. Would you like to know the facts, instead of the myths?
Check out the Energy Facts Talking Points to learn the truth!
