Rogers Signs House Petitions To Increase Domestic Energy Production

Press Release

In a last ditch effort to sway Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring forward proposals to reduce gasoline prices prior to Congress' August adjournment, Congressman Harold "Hal" Rogers signed two petitions urging the swift consideration of legislation to open up domestic energy production in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and in United States coastal waters. Rogers joined like-minded Members of Congress seeking gas price relief and signed discharge petitions to bring up the bipartisan H.R. 6107, the American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act, and H.R. 6108, the Deep Ocean Resources Act.

"This week, Speaker Pelosi will adjourn the House of Representatives for 5 weeks without considering any meaningful legislation to help American families get much-needed relief at the gas pump. This is simply unacceptable," stated Rogers. "My request to the Speaker has been simple and straight-forward - let us vote on legislation to kick our foreign oil addiction through domestic production, while investing in conservation and alternative energy research. This is the only way to provide the short-term relief families in our region need, while ensuring that our country is well-poised to be energy independent long into the future."

H.R. 6107, the American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act, would open 0.01% of ANWR to energy development, bringing online an additional 1 million barrels of oil per day in less than 5 years. This bold move towards energy independence would generate billions of dollars for unprecedented investments in next-generation renewable and alternative fuels.

H.R. 6108, the Deep Ocean Resources Act, would end the 28-year-old ban on oil and natural gas development along the outer-continental shelf (OCS), allowing for the environmentally-safe extraction of an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

With a simple majority of signatories, a discharge petition requires a legislative measure to be considered by the full House of Representatives under the rules. In recent weeks, Rogers has signed several petitions calling for Speaker Pelosi to bring energy legislation to the floor for debate. These measures include ending the ban on federal procurement of alternative fuels, immediately permitting three new oil refineries, and encouraging the production of coal-to-liquid transportation fuel.

Rogers will continue to press Speaker Pelosi to bring forward legislative measures to reduce the price of gasoline for the American public and urge the President to work with Congress to increase the production of American energy.

Source