Larson says it's time to act on energy

U.S. Rep. John Larson's national radio address this morning:

“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.”

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson to give national radio speech on Saturday

Press release from U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose district includes Bristol:

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

WHO:          Congressman John Larson (CT-1) 

WHAT:         Weekly Democratic Radio Address 

WHEN:         Saturday, September 6, 2008 – 11:06 a.m. (EST) 

WHERE:       Major radio networks, including AP, ABC, NPR, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, Fox News Radio, C-SPAN, Armed Forces Radio Network, American Urban Radio Network, Voice of America Radio Network, BBC Radio, CBC Radio, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation

 Below are unembargoed excerpts for immediate release:

 “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!…

““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 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 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. 

“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.  

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City seeking alternatives for oil

The city may form a task force aimed at reducing its energy use.
“The skyrocketing cost of fuel leaves us no choice but to look for alternatives to spending more and more money for less and less energy,” said city Councilor Craig Minor.
City councilors have unanimously agreed to have Bristol join a widespread movement by municipalities to search out new sources of energy and to reduce pollutants that contribute to global warming.
Mayor Art Ward said that he’s been contacting experts and beginning to take steps to carry out the council’s wishes.
“We’re on the road to it,” Ward said.
The council backed Minor’s call to create a task force with “a wide range of views, including the business sector and municipal land use boards” as well as those “with legal or technical expertise in energy consumption.”
Minor said the panel should review suggested actions in the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to determine which have “the best potential to reduce the cost of energy spending by the city and reduce the amount of global warming pollution produced by the city.”
The programs, he said, would “provide both economic and quality of life benefits” that include energy savings, open space preservation, better air quality, reduced traffic congestion, more transportation choices and economic development and job creation through conservation and new technology.
There are a number of avenues that city leaders have promised to explore.
Among them is upping the fuel efficiency of municipal vehicles and reducing their number.
The city is also looking bio-diesel fuel for its diesel trucks.
It is seeking to “make energy efficiency a priority through building code improvements, retrofitting city facilities” with better lighting and encouraging employees to find ways to save energy.
It hopes, too, to “increase the use of clean, alternative energy.”
The city is also investigating ways to adopt and enforce land use policies “that reduce sprawl, preserve open space and create compact, walkable neighborhoods.”
Also on the agenda are more transportation options, including possible bicycle trails, car pooling incentives, public transit initiatives and programs to reduce commuter trips.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Visconti says to tap nation's emergency supply

Press release from Republican congressional hopeful Joe Visconti:

Joseph Visconti, Republican candidate for Connecticut's First Congressional District Thursday proposed utilizing some of the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide Americans with emergency heating fuel this winter.

Visconti's proposal differs significantly from calls by his Democratic opponent to open up the Strategic Reserve to the marketplace to increase gasoline supplies in an effort to reduce gas prices.

The Democrats' suggestion, Visconti said, would "simply provide more profits for the international oil cartel by placing the oil on the open market, and does nothing to address the enormous tax burden the state and federal governments have placed on gasoline."

"The Strategic Reserve contains American oil, already bought and paid for by the American people." Visconti said. "It was created to provide petroleum for our military in the event of a national emergency, and temporary relief from economic and natural disasters."

"Americans freezing in their homes this winter would certainly be a disaster, brought on by economic conditions that are directly traceable to inaction by Congress. But that is our oil and it should be made available to the states, so it could go directly to Americans who would use it to heat their homes."

American Oil on American Soil

Visconti cautioned, however, that using the strategic reserves would be a viable solution only when coupled with a decision by Congress to lift its restrictions on drilling offshore, for shale oil in the Rocky Mountains, and in a barren and desolate tract of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.

"We need to drill our way out of this for the near future as we combine clean and safe drilling with clean and safe nuclear, and a concerted effort to replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources.”

"The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the oil in ANWR, off the U.S. coast and in the Rockies is American Oil on American Soil," Visconti said. "'We the People' still defines our form of government. In America the people are the government and this oil is ours!"

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created in the mid-1970s in response to the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, to provide oil for the military and vital industries if all other sources were closed. When full, the reserve contains one billion barrels of petroleum, roughly a 50-day supply for all users.

Visconti said that releasing the oil directly to the states for emergency heating oil supplies would "keep American oil in America where it would directly benefit Americans.

This is the emergency

"This is the emergency we planned for when American taxpayers bought that oil," Visconti said. "Why should it go on the market, where international speculators can manipulate the price for their profits?"

Visconti further proposed a massive expansion of the Strategic Reserve with supplies to come from all oil production in areas controlled by government leases. “Each lease approved by the government should have a provision to deposit a portion of all oil pumped from those areas into the Strategic Reserve until America has made the transition to alternative non-fossil fuels.

"In essence the Strategic Reserve would kept full by those sources of oil, and if expanded would give America a real buffer against natural or man-made disasters."

Visconti's opponent, incumbent John Larson, has been a staunch opponent of any new drilling, either offshore, in shale or in ANWR.

Larson, the vice chairman of the Democratic caucus, Wednesday led 14 Democrats from New England calling for an additional $10 billion in oil-related taxes; a $9 billion increase to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, more than tripling last year's budget, as well as another $1 billion for weatherization assistance. Larson said he didn't know where the money would come from, but Visconti noted, “If John Larson doesn’t know where the money would come from for his own plan, he is delusional at best, if he thinks it will be in any form other than tax and fee increases.

"Americans already are paying far more than they should in taxes, fees, interest, add-ons and hidden costs," Visconti said. "We don't need more taxes and more bureaucracy. We need action that will directly benefit those who need it most, without charging them or any other Americans for oil that already belongs to us."

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Visconti calls on Larson to "take off the blindfolds"

I asked Republican congressional candidate Joe Visconti of West Hartford what he thought of U.S. Rep. John Larson's press release on oil drilling. Here's what Visconti sent back a few minutes ago:

I am on the run but just saw your email and Larson's press release. His quote of "For seven years he has allowed speculators to run rampant in the energy markets. It is time for that to end.” refering to the President is hysterical because if the President has done this than so has he and the Democrats who have controlled the House and Senate since 06. Larson continues to show up late with a note from Pelosi saying the dog ate my homework. Larson also says it will take ten years to get any oil from ANWAR, well John you have held office for 10 years now and just had a ten year celebration, just what were you celebrating, 10 years of Blocking Domestic Oil Exploration and Drilling?

Washington and Larson need to stop playing pin the tail on the donkey, take off the blindfolds and promote a comprehensive Energy plan which includes more Domestic Drilling NOW, more Clean and Safe Nuclear Planning NOW both of which will require vast amounts of private and public short and long term investment.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson blasts Bush for cozying up to oil execs

A new press release from U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol:

Today, Democrats in Congress reacted strongly to the President’s call to increase offshore drilling for oil. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) ¸Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, said:
“President Bush’s attempt to politicize the oil crisis that is wreaking havoc on average American’s ability to make ends meet is uncalled for and poorly informed. Time and again we have shown that more drilling for oil will do nothing to lower the prices at the pump for the millions of people who are suffering today. In fact, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge will not produce a drop of oil for ten years. And even after waiting ten years for, the drilling won’t lower gas prices by more than a few pennies per gallon.
“The President’s speech was nothing but a gift to his friends at the big oil companies. And, it is these oil companies who already have rights to drill for 70% of the oil on the Outer Continental Shelf. They have leases to drill on 40 million acres of offshore land, yet they have put only 7 million acres into production. Why should we open more lands to oil exploration, when oil companies are not utilizing the lands they have? This is part of a trend of stockpiling leases to control oil prices and this New Direction Congress can not support it.
“The President should keep his focus on ways we can actually lower prices and help American families today. For seven years he has allowed speculators to run rampant in the energy markets. It is time for that to end.”

Here's an Associated Press story about President Bush's comments on oil drilling.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com