Congressman McCaul Returns to D.C. with Message for Speaker Pelosi

HOUSTON – Moments before boarding his flight back to Washington, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) stood with Representative Kevin Brady and delivered a message to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on behalf of Houston’s Republican Congressional delegation: Time to call for a vote on comprehensive American-made energy legislation and stop playing partisan politics.

"I’m happy to be going back to Washington to do something about this extraordinary burden on the families in my district, and across Texas and America," said Rep. McCaul. "But what’s frustrating is that Speaker Pelosi still has no plans to allow a vote on meaningful legislation that will increase American-made energy and lower gas prices."

With Congress in session for only three weeks before breaking again in October, the only votes scheduled in the House are for two bills that would spend millions of tax dollars creating an environmental education program (that already exists in the EPA) and studying a scenic waterway in Vermont. Speaker Pelosi has scheduled no votes on funding the government past the end of this month or dealing with the punishing prices at the pump. While traveling the Tenth district during the five week August recess, constituents made clear to Congressman McCaul that energy was their greatest concern.

Rep. McCaul is a sponsor of the American Energy Act. It calls for an "all of the above" strategy to gain energy independence by allowing for drilling in areas that are currently off limits in Alaska and offshore, and by aggressively pursuing development of alternative energy, including nuclear, wind, clean coal, hydro-electric and geothermal. Supporters of the American Energy Act realize that no matter how quickly alternative energy is developed, America will still rely on fossil fuels for decades. Experts believe that simply the legislative commitment to increasing the domestic oil and gas supply will decrease energy prices short-term.