Hastert: Dems blocking road to cheaper gasoline

Speaker Dennis Hastert:

Let me be clear. Senate Democrats have blocked energy legislation for the last four years. In the time since, we've had blackouts in various parts of the country. The price of natural gas, which heats and cools our homes and businesses, hit an all-time high. Gasoline prices have hit an all-time high.

In fact, in the time since President Bush sent his National Energy Plan to Congress in 2001, the cost of a barrel of oil has doubled.

There's no question about it. America is too dependent on foreign oil. Most of it comes from volatile nations where supplies are often unpredictable. Developing nations like China and India are further squeezing the supply.

Currently, our nation sends more than $500 billion overseas (at today's prices) to import oil each year. Meanwhile, we completely ignore options to produce energy and jobs right here in the United States.

The situation is a bit more complicated than this, but in a nutshell, this works for me...