On Friday, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, and other House Republicans, took to the House floor to demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi reconvene the House of Representatives to consider the comprehensive American Energy Act.

Last Friday, Pelosi adjourned the House for the next five weeks, without voting on legislation to lower gas prices. Immediately following the vote on the motion to adjourn the House of Representatives, which Goodlatte voted against, she had the lights, microphones and CSPAN cameras in the House chamber turned off.

Goodlatte says, “Every day, folks across the Sixth District and the nation are confronted with the rising cost of energy, from the gas pump to their electric and gas bills. Energy is vital to every sector of the U.S. economy, including homes, small businesses and industries. When energy supplies are tight, families and businesses are severely impacted by the resulting increase in energy costs.

“To move America toward energy independence we need a comprehensive and strategic plan that increases the supply, security and diversity of American energy, promotes conservation and puts real alternative fuel sources in the hands of consumers to lower costs.

"We must lift the moratorium on drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, potentially producing nearly a million barrels of oil a day. We must diversify our energy supplies with alternative sources, including renewable fuels and wind, solar and hydrogen power and we should encourage the production of more nuclear power which provides CO2 emission-free energy.

"The American Energy Act does all of the above and it deserves a vote on the House floor. The hundreds of billions of dollars we send out of our country to buy foreign oil is sapping the strength of our economy and must be stopped. The American Energy Act will help create millions of American jobs and will move our nation toward independence from foreign sources of energy. The Speaker should not be afraid of allowing democracy to work.”