Letter from Congressman Burgess

I sent a letter to Congressman Burgess regarding the energy crisis. Honestly, it was a letter that was a bit critical of him. He was sponsoring seminars to teach me how to use energy in my home more efficiently instead of battling that Haight-Ashbury hippie, Nancy Pelosi, who is trying to grind this nation to a halt and then run us into the ground with her nonsensical policies.
I have to say that his letter to me is very good (I hope he wrote it himself), and I appreciate the response.

Dear Mr. Henry:
Thank you for expressing your support of expanded domestic energy exploration. I appreciate hearing your views on this important matter. I support efforts to protect our wilderness and wildlife; however, I believe we must also recognize the importance of developing a balance between the needs of the community and those of the environment. Energy independence is a matter of national security, and national economic sustainability.
If drilling in Alaska, in the waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, or on federal lands where geologic data supports exploration will increase the supply of oil and natural gas, then our federal government must encourage responsible drilling where supply can be produced.
At the same time, the rights of the states to develop their land with the support of their communities must not be impeded by the federal government. Fuel prices are skyrocketing due to tight supplies of oil and the increasing demand from developing countries. As a result, commodities traders and institutional investors are speculating that the price of oil will continue to rise.
The fastest way to reverse this trend is to increase the global supply of oil. Increase supply here and increase it now. Recent legislation produced by Congress has ignored this crucial supply and demand relationship. Efforts to penalize oil and natural gas companies for record profits or to force them to drill on leased acres with little or no production value before they can explore additional land will not increase the supply of oil.
Instead of supporting these measures, I have cosponsored H.R. 3089, titled "the No More Excuses Act", a measure proposed by Congressman Mac Thornberry. This bill would terminate all existing federal laws that prohibit leasing activities in the Outer Continental Shelf and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain of Alaska. On July 17, 2008 I signed a letter sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives asking her to immediately send to the Floor a list of legislation that would allow increased access to American energy production.
That list includes H.R. 6108, a measure to increase access to production on the Outer Continental Shelf, and H.R. 6107, a measure to increase access to production in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. I am a cosponsor of both bills. A copy of that letter can be found at my website (www.house.gov/burgess). Access to affordable and reliable sources of energy is essential to the growth of our economy.
How can we ask Arab nations to increase their production while our coasts and interior remain off-limits to environmentally sound exploration? It is inexplicable to me that the Chinese have been given license to drill off the Cuban coast, and yet, we cannot do the same off of Florida-in essence, in the same oil field!
At the same time it is also essential for us to continue to advance renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and emissions-free nuclear power as well as conserve energy through new technologies. Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. As a Member of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, I have focused on modernizing our nation's energy policy to address such diverse challenges as skyrocketing fuel costs and global climate change. Our energy needs are anticipated to grow by nearly 40 percent over the next two decades. As a consequence, the United States must begin to responsibly utilize its domestic energy reserves, the production of which is decades overdue.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives. Please feel free to visit my website (www.house.gov/burgess) or contact me with any future concerns.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Burgess, M.D.Member of Congress