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This week, I had the opportunity to meet with the Nicholas County Girl Scouts on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. They were able to visit Washington, D.C. after raising money from their cookie sale. The group was comprised of juniors, cadets and senior ranking Scouts ages 10 to 12 years old. This fun and educational trip was intended to instill patriotic values, respect and love for the country in each of the girls.
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Weekly Column: The Truth about the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge
Since the Democrats gained the Majority in both the House and Senate in 2006, the price at the pump for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by nearly $2. Despite Democrats' promises of a "commonsense plan" to lower gas prices, the average price of gas recently crossed the $4 per gallon mark. Kentuckians are struggling to stretch their budgets to accommodate the increased cost of fuel and food. As a nation, we must use our available domestic resources to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
The subject of whether or not to open the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has been debated for more than forty years, yet there is still misinformation circulating on the subject.
ANWR is located in Northeast Alaska, approximately 1,300 miles south of the North Pole. The entirety of the 19 million acre refuge is situated within the Arctic Circle. In 1980, Congress limited the footprint of any potential development for oil and gas production to 2,000 acres, or .01% of the total refuge. A United States Geological Survey completed in 1998 determined that ANWR could yield as much as 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
To put it into perspective, consider that the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport sits on more than 7,000 acres of land. If Congress permitted drilling in ANWR, we could extract millions of barrels of oil from a location that is less than one-third the size of our airport.
Some environmentalists insist that ANWR drilling would cause irreversible harm to Alaska's landscape. However, the history of responsible drilling in other areas of the State, like the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and the Prudhoe Bay field, tells a different story. Both these sites have produced billions of barrels of oil without causing any measurable harm to the local ecosystem. Opponents to ANWR drilling cite concerns about the well-being of the Alaskan caribou populations, despite the fact that caribou population in Prudhoe Bay has multiplied from 3,000 to 23,000 since drilling commenced there in 1977.
The Department of the Interior has estimated that there are more than 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil beneath our nation's federal lands and coastal waters. That's enough oil to power 60 million cars for sixty years. If we were to effectively utilize our domestic resources, America could become more energy independent and reduce the cost of fuel.
Residents throughout the Fourth District of Kentucky contact me on a regular basis to express their support for domestic oil exploration. Nearly 60% of all Americans support the development of more domestic energy, while more than 75% of Alaskans support opening ANWR to responsible drilling. The Democratic leaders in Congress have proven themselves to be out of touch by turning away any attempt to use American resources to lower prices for the American people. Drilling in ANWR would lower fuel costs, generate approximately $191 billion in additional revenue for our nation and create thousands of new jobs. We cannot afford to let American resources like ANWR go unused while gas prices continue to skyrocket.
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D.C. and District Talk
House finally passes funding agreement to support our troops and their families
Last night, the House reaffirmed its commitment to our fighting men and women in the United States military by passing H.R. 2642, an emergency supplemental funding bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. After close to five months of delay, this bill will ensure that our troops and their commanders will have access to the resources they need. The bill provides more than $160 billion in emergency funding for our troops for the remainder of fiscal year 2008 and part of fiscal year 2009. H.R. 2642 also provides $21 billion for other spending, including an important modernization of the GI bill that will ensure our veterans have access to a quality education.
The passage of this legislation is a victory for American troops and American taxpayers. The bill is long overdue and by no means perfect, but I am pleased that the House was ultimately able to work in a bipartisan manner to support the brave patriots who dedicate their lives to serving and protecting our country. These men and women deserve to have all the resources they need delivered to them in a timely and efficient manner. I am proud that we were able to ensure that our veterans and the family members who support them have access to quality education benefits that more accurately reflect the costs of higher education in the 21st century. That we were able to do this while preserving the integrity of the all-volunteer force reflects the strength of this Congress' commitment to our fighting men and women in harm's way.
The supplemental provides the funding necessary to support our troops without politically motivated mandates from Congress that undermine their efforts. Additionally, this legislation protects American taxpayers by excluding massive tax increases on small businesses, which are responsible for more than 75% of all new jobs in America. Other highlights of H.R. 2642 include:
- Increased funding for the construction of veterans' and military hospitals
- A requirement that ensures State Department and USAID reconstruction aid will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Iraqi government
- An extension of federal unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their current benefits
- Funding to provide relief from floods and tornadoes in the Midwest and to strengthen New Orleans levees
H.R. 2642 now awaits consideration in the Senate.
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No More Excuses Energy Act
 House Republicans continued efforts to bring energy legislation to the floor of the House for a vote that will increase domestic production. As a co-sponsor of the No More Excuses Energy Act (HR 3089), I signed a discharge petition that would force House leadership to call a vote on this important legislation.
The agenda and floor schedule of the House of Representatives is set by the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader. A discharge petition is a legislative tool that allows a majority of the members of the House to force a bill out of committee onto the House floor over the objections of the Speaker and the Majority Leader. When a discharge petition is signed by a majority of the sitting representatives it must be scheduled for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
The No More Excuses Energy Act is just one of the many bills I support that would work toward increasing our domestic energy supply. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not use its own natural resources for energy production. The No More Excuses Energy Act would make significant strides to increase our domestic supply of oil and natural gas by:
- Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible oil and gas production
- Directing the Secretary of Interior to open the Alaskan coastal plain to oil and gas leases
- Requiring the President to designate ten sites on federal land for construction of oil or gas refineries
- Allowing for tax exempt bonds to build domestic oil refineries.
With regard to electricity production, this legislation would:
- Extend the tax credit through 2018 for producing electricity from wind.
- Allow tax credits for the production of electricity from nuclear, natural gas and carbon dioxide.
Doing nothing is not an energy policy. Last year, we implemented new fuel economy standards for automobiles and other energy efficiency programs. Now we must focus on increasing our domestic supply of energy as soon as possible.
As of today, the discharge petition has 149 signatures. It requires 218 to force the bill to the floor. You can check who has signed the discharge petition by visiting http://thomas.loc.gov/ and entering the bill number (H.R. 3089).
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Summer interns continue to arrive
A new group of interns have joined our team for the summer. During their time with us, they will learn a lot about government and help to serve Fourth District constituents. I'll be sharing a few of their bios in the e-newsletter each week to let you know a little bit about them.
- Justin Bramlage is a cadet from The United States Military Academy and is interning at our Washington, D.C. office. He is majoring in Geospatial Information Sciences at the academy and will receive his commission next June with the class of 2009.
- Brooke Valentine is a senior at Western Kentucky University where she is pursuing a degree in Accounting. She is a 2005 graduate of North Oldham High School. In addition to interning in our La Grange office this summer, Brooke is also working for an event planning company. She is excited to be learning about Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District and interacting with its constituents.
- Tyler Foote, who is also interning in our La Grange office, will be entering his senior year at Centre College where he is a double major in Government and History. He is Representative-at-Large for the senior class and serves on the Executive Council of the Student Government. Tyler is a member of the Executive Council for Centre Action Reaches Everyone (C.A.R.E.) which plans campus wide service events for students. He is a founding member of the Rotaract service organization and currently serves as the treasurer. Tyler plans on attending law school after graduating in May 2009.
- Ryan Easton, the third of our interns in La Grange, will be a junior at the University of Kentucky this fall, where he is majoring in political science and German, with minors in psychology and international studies. He is a member of the Delta Epsilon Iota honor society and Delta Phi Alpha German honor society and is treasurer of the Pi Sigma Alpha political science society. Ryan plans to attend law school after graduating UK.
Thanks to all the great students who have chosen to dedicate a portion of their summer to serving the constituents of the Fourth District.
If you or someone you know is interested in interning in the Washington, D.C. office, please call (202) 225-3465, or call (859) 426-0080 for internships in any of the district offices. Ask for the Internship Coordinator when you call.
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Kentucky businesses face annual report filing deadline
Businesses based in Kentucky, both foreign and domestic, are facing an upcoming deadline to file their annual reports with the Office of the Secretary of State. All Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Professional Services Corporations (PSCs), Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships and Business Trusts that are registered within the Commonwealth are required to file an annual report by June 30th. Failure to do so will result in the company being listed in bad standing with the office. Ultimately, this could cause the entity to be administratively dissolved or revoked of its authority to do business in Kentucky. This is the first year that Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships and Business Trusts have been required to file annual reports.
The Office of the Secretary of State is encouraging business entities to "save time and file online" by utilizing the annual report online filing service on the office's website (www.sos.ky.gov/annualreports). Nearly one third of annual reports are filed online; this number increases each year. For more information about annual reports or other business
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