Replacing police cars in Beverly Hills with Lexus Hybrids, buying energy-efficient hybrid snow-mobiles for ski resorts in Aspen or paying for former Vice President Al Gore to promote his documentary, are not the policies that are going to bring down the price that Missourians are paying at the pump.  Congress needs to pass real energy legislation that will reduce the costs that we all pay for energy.

With the summer driving season comming up, now is the time for Congress to address the rising costs of energy.  Experts predict that gasoline will hit $4.00 per gallon this summer. This is on top of the $1.01 per gallon per gallon increase since the start of the 110th Congress.

High gas prices hurt families and small businesses. Congress must address the rising cost of energy in a sensible way that reduces the price that consumers pay at the pump.  Real energy legislation must increase our domestic supply of energy and wean ourselves off of foreign oil.  That includes moving to new technologies like E-85 or flex fuel vehicles that are made right here in the 6th district. 

Wind energy and biofuels are also ways that we can reduce the cost of energy by lessening our dependence on forgein oil.  That is why I voted in 2005 to create the Wind Energy Tax Credit and why I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 197 which extends the tax credits for 5 years. 

Real energy legislation also means going after the oil reserves we have in our own backyard in ANWR and off the coastal shelf.  These areas have billions of barrels of oil which can be extracted with minimal environmental impact.

Congress needs to get serious and pass real energy legislation that reduces the cost of energy for Missourians.