Congressman John Larson of Connecticut, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, delivered the Democratic Radio Address this morning. In his address, Congressman Larson discusses energy legislation the New Direction Congress will bring forward to combat rising energy and gas prices and to ensure our energy independence.

Author: NancyPelosi
Keywords: Democrats Congress Energy Independence Radio Address John Larson
Added: September 6, 2008

Congressman John Larson of Connecticut, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, delivered the Democratic Radio Address this morning. In his address, Congressman Larson discusses energy legislation the New Direction Congress will bring forward to combat rising energy and gas prices and to ensure our energy independence. Larson explains, “for eight years, two oilmen in the White House have crafted this country’s energy policy…Barack Obama summed up our sentiment on this Bush-McCain policy, in one word: enough!”

Listen:

Full transcript:

Hi, I’m Congressman John Larson of East Hartford, Connecticut, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

In Denver, Barack Obama struck a chord with the American people when he spoke about the change we need now.

It is that fierce urgency of now that led John Mitchell, a former Republican Mayor in my district, to tell me about the plight of everyday citizens forced to turn over their entire Social Security check in order to heat their homes.

At Augie & Ray’s in my hometown, I hear daily from commuters, truckers, small business owners, and people on fixed income. They tell me how the costs of oil and gas are impacting their life.

For eight years, two oilmen in the White House have crafted this country’s energy policy. And for eight years, Big Oil has raked in unprecedented profits.

Barack Obama summed up our sentiment on this Bush-McCain policy, in one word: enough!

Enough of the energy policies designed behind closed doors with the oil industry.

Enough of John McCain and the Senate Republicans blocking tax credits for alternative energy.

Enough of the exorbitant cost to fill up our gas tanks.

And enough of choosing between prescription drugs, buying food, and heating our homes.

Enough!

It is time for an energy policy that puts Main Street before Wall Street.

It is time for a comprehensive energy plan that eases the short-term burden of high energy costs and addresses the long-term crisis of our dependence on Middle East oil.

Barack Obama has set a goal for this country. He’s laid down a marker. Under his presidency, we will end our addiction to oil from the Middle East within ten years.

His challenge echo President Kennedy’s goal to send a man to the moon. Well, we accomplished that in nine years.

And this new goal is within the grasp of the American people and the New Direction Congress is ready to embrace it.

Unfortunately, some Republicans in Congress – including John McCain – have spent the last few months obstructing progress and doing the bidding of the oil industry.

They offer nothing but the empty mantra of ‘drill, drill, drill.’

Democrats support drilling, but a ‘drill only’ plan would do nothing but drill deeper and deeper into your wallet. And look, while the oil companies have remained flush, your wallet is running dry.

When we return to Washington next week, the Democratic Congress under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi will put forward a comprehensive, bipartisan energy plan that puts us on the path toward reaching our energy goals.

We will vote on legislation that actually does something to lower the price you pay at the pump.

We will take speculators out of our energy futures markets where they artificially drive up the cost at the pump.

We will consider responsibly opening portions of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling while demanding that Big Oil companies use the leases they have already been issued or return them to the public.

We will invest the royalties owed the American taxpayer in alternative energy technology.

And we will continue to call for the release of oil from our national stockpile to help lower the price at the pump. After all, if the President can release our reserves when the oil companies come asking – why can’t he do the same when the American people ask?

As oilman T. Boone Pickens says, we can’t drill our way out of this problem. Not when Americans use 25 percent of the world’s oil but only own three percent of the reserves.

Under the Bush Administration, we now import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of 700 billion dollars a year.

Enough!

We need to address our future energy needs with a federal renewable electricity standard consisting of alternative forms of energy, including natural gas, solar power, wind, biomass and geothermal power and fuel cells.

In short, everything must be on the table.

Democrats in Congress and Barack Obama believe that we need to put Americans first by putting them to work in a green economy.

With the strength and ingenuity of the American people, we can propel ourselves toward an energy independent future.

My fellow Americans, we can do this! And we must begin now!

I’m Congressman John Larson. Thank you for listening.

God Bless you and God Bless America.

There is not a person in our country who has not seen a loved one suffer because of cancer. Cancer kills 565,000 Americans annually, and each year there are more than 1.4 million new cases. All Americans must work together to make eradicating the scourge of cancer a national priority of the highest order.

The federal government’s role in our nation’s fight against cancer has been significant but more must be done. We must make key investments in research at the National Institutes of Health, promote prevention and screenings, and be certain that every American gets appropriate treatment. We must also allow scientists to pursue the research that they believe has the highest likelihood to heal.

There are reasons for great optimism: scientists are working now to identify genetic changes that increase and decrease risk for cancer, to determine patterns of protein markers for early detection of cancer, and to better treat and cure the disease.

Let us all work together to make this a golden era of progress as we Stand Up to Cancer.

Today, the Department of Labor released its employment report for August showing a loss of another 84,000 American jobs, and an unemployment rate that climbed to 6.1 percent – the highest since September 2003. The economy has lost jobs for eight straight months, with a total of 605,000 American jobs lost this year.

The State of the Bush Economy

The unemployment rate climbed to 6.1 percent — the highest level in nearly five years (September 2003).

America has suffered an eighth straight month of job losses — 84,000 in August — totaling 605,000 so far this year.

The number of Americans looking for work climbed to 9.4 million in August – the highest number since December 1992. Nearly one in five (1.8 million) of those looking for work have been jobless for six months or more.

Average hourly earnings continue to fail to keep pace with inflation — up only 3.6 percent over the last year. Rising prices have pushed inflation up to 5.6 percent over the past 12 months.

Food prices have risen at an annualized rate of 8 percent over the last three months.

The American people are working harder, but making less even in the face of rising costs of health care, energy, and education. Since 2000, worker productivity is up, but the purchasing power of the typical working age family’s income is down by more than $2,000. As a result, 5.7 million more Americans are living in poverty and 7.2 million more Americans are without health care than in 2000.

Retail gas prices are at $3.68 a gallon – more than double that of 2001 – after peaking at $4.11 in July. Diesel prices remain high at $4.12 a gallon, more than two times the cost in 2001. In July, the price of a barrel of oil reached a new record of $147 per barrel, more than four times when Bush took office (today it is at $106). And heating costs are expected to reach record levels this winter.

Meanwhile, oil companies continue to report record profits, with Exxon Mobil posting the largest quarterly profits for an American company in history of nearly $12 billion in the 2nd quarter. Profits of the big five oil companies are projected to be more than $160 billion this year.

Speaker Pelosi on the Department of Labor report:

The economic policies of President Bush and the Republicans have delivered another blow to American families, as 84,000 more workers lost their jobs last month alone. Today, more than 9 million Americans are without work and millions more are struggling with the high cost of gas, health care and groceries, yet John McCain told Americans who are out of work or who just lost their jobs that another four years of the same failed Bush economic policies are the right solution for them and for America.

With the unemployment rate at a five-year high, it is clear that we must take immediate action to strengthen our economy. The New Direction Congress will soon act on a second economic stimulus package and a comprehensive energy plan that will create new American jobs, invest in renewables, increase domestic production, make America more energy independent, and break free of the failed Bush economic policies that John McCain and Republicans in Congress have rubber-stamped for far too long.

Hard-working Americans deserve economic policies that reward their efforts, strengthen their families, and keep the American Dream alive; that is what Democrats are committed to delivering.

Chairman George Miller:

Today’s news is yet another reminder that American workers continue to pay the price for eight years of President Bush’s economic policies. Already this year, more than 600,000 workers have lost their jobs, joining more than nine million Americans that are desperately looking for work. As separate data released yesterday shows, workers are now working harder for less. In today’s rough economy, this isn’t just bad news – its frightening news for the millions of workers who are working longer hours, taking on second and third jobs, and retiring later in life in order to make ends meet.

In light of this administration’s failed economic policies – giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy and hoping it trickles down – we need a new economic stimulus package that will create new jobs for workers and help strengthen middle class families. In June, the Democratic Congress took an important step by approving a much-needed extension of unemployment insurance to help out-of-work Americans.

Republicans in Congress should immediately drop their opposition to another economic stimulus and join us in working to provide additional, much-needed relief for workers.

Most economists agree that our nation’s turbulent economic times are not over. The combination of high energy costs, rising food prices, the housing crisis, and stagnant wages will continue to put stress on Americans’ pocketbooks. Despite all this, the Republican presidential ticket has failed to show any real grasp of how the ailing economy is hurting families – let alone offer any proposals for fixing it. After eight years of Bush economic policies and eight straight months of job losses, the last thing Americans need and want is more of the same – but it’s clear that’s exactly what the Republicans have to offer.

American workers and families deserve much, much better. For starters we need an administration that will once again treat workers with dignity and respect, and that believes that hard work should be rewarded with fair wages, benefits, and working conditions. We need an administration that understands the financial hardships facing families, and that has an economic plan for how to address them. And we need a President who will work for – not against – the interests of our workers.

For months, the President has ignored the bipartisan request of Congress to release a small portion of oil from our national stockpile to bring relief to consumers struggling with soaring gas prices at the pump. Today, the President announced that he responded to the request from an oil company to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

By ignoring the needs of consumers but responding to the request of oil companies, it is clear that the Bush-Cheney-McCain energy decisions are made with only one thing in mind – Big Oil.

The New Direction Congress is crafting a comprehensive energy strategy that will provide relief for consumers, end our dependence on foreign oil, create millions of jobs and grow our economy.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in response to President Bush’s comments today on energy:

For too long, the President’s and Republicans’ ‘drill only’ energy policies have reflected the demands of Big Oil.

The New Direction Congress is crafting a comprehensive energy strategy that will provide relief for consumers, end our dependence on foreign oil, create millions of jobs and grow our economy. The Democratic plan will promote efficiency and invest in renewable sources of energy, responsibly increase domestic supply by opening portions of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, with appropriate safeguards, and without taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil, and require Big Oil to pay the billions of dollars they owe in royalties to invest in clean energy resources.

America faces a choice: a continuation of the Bush-Cheney-McCain legacy of soaring prices and greater dependence on foreign oil or a comprehensive, bipartisan strategy that develops new and traditional sources of energy.

As Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan, a month of inner reflection, spirituality, and charity, it is an opportunity for all Americans to remember and celebrate our nation’s religious diversity.

The observance of Ramadan offers Americans a chance to celebrate our nation’s tradition of religious freedom that allows for the free exercise of all faiths.

To those observing the holy month of Ramadan, may you and your family be blessed. Ramadan Mubarak.