by Matthew Hay Brown, updated with Boehner aide response

House Minority Leader John Boehner used some vivid language last week to describe the political consequences House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would face for refusing to hold a vote on expanding offshore drilling.

Now Pelosi's top deputy is urging him to take it back.

Boehner, who has joined the Republican protest demanding that Pelosi call the House back from the August recess to vote on a GOP energy bill, was asked Friday about the possibility of a special session in which Democrats focused on other issues, such as children's health insurance, without tackling drilling.

"She's gonna bring us back and not deal with it?" asked the Ohio Republican, as quoted by Politico. "The American people are gonna hang her."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who has enjoyed a cordial relationship with Boehner, said he was "disappointed" by the "inappropriate comments."

"Republicans are clearly frustrated that the American public is not buying their Johnny-one-note energy policies of the past, but such comments are harmful to a useful debate over our nation's future," the Maryland Democrat said. "I hope the Minority Leader will apologize for his remarks, and work with Democrats in a bipartisan, constructive manner to increase our domestic oil supply, invest in renewable energy and end our dependence on foreign oil."

A spokesman for Boehner said today that the minority leader had "used a figure of speech to reflect the frustration Americans feel every time they fill up at the pump."

by Matthew Hay Brown

The recent exchange of letters between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner occasioned by the debate over drilling has been typical for the two leaders when they have been divided over an issue.

Less so is the gambit by Boehner today.

The Ohio Republican and his colleagues in the GOP House leadership are bypassing their Democratic counterparts with a letter sent directly to the majority party's rank-and-file. They're asking Democrats to join the Republicans who have been staging a floor protest this week in calling on Pelosi to reconvene Congress for a vote on "increasing American-made energy."

"Since Last Friday, House Republicans have stood with the American people in an unprecedented nationwide protest against Speaker Pelosi's decision to adjourn the House for the rest of the summer without a vote on the energy solutions Americans are demanding," Boehner said. He said he would return to Washington tomorrow to join the protest.

"Republicans will not rest until the American people have been heard and Speaker Pelosi has allowed an up-or-down vote on the energy reforms our nation needs," he said.

Republicans, who have been giving speeches in the dimmed House chamber since last week, want to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas exploration.

Democrats, who have dismissed the revolt as a stunt, say oil companies should focus first on developing the tens of millions of acres on which they already have permission to drill. They also want President Bush to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Both sides acknowledge that there is little they can do to reduce prices at the pump in the short term. The text of the Republican letter follows.

by Matthew Hay Brown

The lights have been dimmed and Congress has gone home, but a couple dozen House Republicans continued their floor protest today of what they're calling the "Pelosi shutdown" - the decision by Democrats last week to adjourn for the previously scheduled August recess without voting on opening new areas to drilling.

"What heartens me as I hear the speeches of the men and women gathered around me is that I know in my heart we are speaking and giving voice to the will of the overwhelming majority of the American people who want this Congress to return to Washington, D.C., and give the American people more access to American oil," said Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican.

"I'm absolutely confident that, if this Congress were brought back to Washington, D.C., and given an opportunity to vote on giving more access to the American people of American oil, that there is a bipartisan majority in the Congress that would pass that measure."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has labeled calls to open more domestic areas for drilling "a hoax." Democrats have pushed Bush to release supply from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and say oil companies should explore the tens of millions of acres on which they already hold drilling leases before they are given new areas are opened up.

"Democrats offered a real solution to high energy prices that would bring immediate relief within 10 days by forcing the President to free our oil from the nation's stockpile," Pelosi said. "The Republicans propose to give away public lands to Big Oil, which will not immediately reduce the price at the pump and save Americans only 2 cents 10 years from now. This Republican hoax is unworthy of the serious debate we must have to reduce the price at the pump and promote energy independence."

by Matthew Hay Brown

House Minority Leader John Boehner and 10 fellow GOP congressmen left Washington this morning for Alaska, where they plan to spend the weekend highlighting the domestic energy production potential at settings such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says they've headed in the wrong direction.

"Two-thirds of northern Alaska is open to drilling, so if they're serious about increasing the domestic production of oil, they should take a left at the Arctic Refuge and keep going west for about 150 miles," the Maryland Democrat said. "That will put them in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska - the best source for Alaskan oil, and an area that is already open for business."

As oil costs continue to climb, Boehner and other Republicans want to open up more areas to domestic drilling, part of what they're calling an "all of the above" approach to meeting the nation's energy needs. With polls showing growing support for more exploration, President Bush this week lifted the executive prohibition on offshore drilling imposed by his father 18 years ago.

"Our American energy tour will shine a spotlight on what the Democratic majority can't seem to grasp: We can bring down the price of gasoline," Boehner said. "America is rich with emerging energy technologies, as well as a vast supply of natural resources that has been put off limits by the majority party."

by Matthew Hay Brown

No sooner had President Bush blamed rising gasoline prices on Democratic intransigence this afternoon than congressional leaders dismissed his decision to lift the executive ban on offshore drilling as a political stunt.

"Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas."

"I've been in Washington long enough to know a political stunt when I see one," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "The good news is the American people won't be fooled. If the President wants to lower gas prices, he should stop hosting press conferences and start taking action."

Bush's Rose Garden announcement amounted to the latest salvo in a monthslong battle over energy policy while the cost of oil has continued to climb. Republicans - and growing numbers of Americans generally - have favored opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore areas to exploration.

"For years, my administration has been calling on Congress to expand domestic oil production," Bush said during his Rose Garden announcement. "Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal - and now Americans are paying at the pump."

Bush's decision to lift the ban imposed by his father on drilling in the outer continental sheft leaves only a congressional prohibition in place. He called on lawmakers to remove it forthwith.

"The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress," he said. "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court. Democratic leaders can show that they have finally heard the frustrations of the American people by matching the action I've taken today, repealing the congressional ban, and passing legislation to facilitate responsible offshore exploration."

by Matthew Hay Brown

After weeks of Republican criticism of Democratic opposition to expanding drilling in Alaska and beyond, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today unveiled a new mantra for his party.

"Democrats are for greater domestic production," the Maryland Democrat told the Capitol press corps this morning, and repeated: "Democrats are for greater domestic production. Democrats are not against drilling."

Of course, Hoyer was talking about exploiting the 88 million acres on which oil companies already hold federal leases - not the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve or the areas off the East, West and Gulf coasts that Republicans (and growing numbers of Americans generally) want to explore.

"Just to give you an idea of what that means," Hoyer said, "eighty-eight million acres is Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and most of Maryland is now available. ...

"Democrats are not against drilling. What we are for is urging and making sure the oil companies, who are getting the highest price for the product in history - don't need any additional tax incentives to do so - ought to be spending their money on exploring and bringing more product to market."

At the other end of the Capitol, Senate Republicans said the way to do that is the Gas Price Reduction Act, GOP legislation that would allow coastal states to open up the outer continental shelf for drilling and end a moratorium on exploiting oil shale.

"To do something important, we all know, requires dealing with the problem of supply and demand," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters. "Additional domestic supply needs to be part of the package."

by Matthew Hay Brown

Three months ago, congressional Democrats began pressing President Bush to halt new shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Today, with gasoline prices still climbing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked him to begin drawing the reserve down.

"Deploying a small portion of the resources in the SPR would provide much needed assistance to American consumers facing record prices and help our economy during a serious period of instability," Pelosi wrote to Bush. "I strongly urge you to use every available tool, including deployment of the SPR, to provide timely relief for American consumers and businesses."

Bush initially resisted the calls to stop adding 60,000 barrels of oil each day to the giant undergound caverns in Texas and Louisiana where the reserves are stored, but relented after Congress passed legislation to do so by veto-proof margins.

It's unclear whether Pelosi's current request will garner the same bipartisan support.

"The fact is, the American people expect and deserve far more than what Speaker Pelosi is proposing," House Minority Leader John Boehner said in a statement. The Ohio Republican did not indicate whether he favored drawing down the reserve.

"With her call for President Bush to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the speaker is admitting yet again that increasing the supply of oil will help reduce the price of gasoline," Boehner said. "I agree that more supply is necessary, and so do my House Republican colleagues who have been arguing for decades in favor of more American energy production."

Pelosi's letter follows.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Returning to Washington after the Fourth of July break - when it is likely that they got an earful from constituents about the rising cost of energy - Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to agreement on legislation to address prices at the pump.

The problem for both sides, as lawmakers concede privately, is there appears to be little they can do in the short run to bring down the cost of oil. But neither party has let that deprive them of the debate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took the Senate floor today to tout the Gas Price Reduction Act already rejected by Democrats for its provisions to expand drilling in the United States.

"The goal of finding more energy at home, rather than relying on the Middle East, is not a fantasy," the Kentucky Republican said. "America is already the number three oil producer in the world, and a number of states have indicated that they would like to open up the area off their coasts to even more oil exploration but they're prohibited by a federal ban. ...

"We should also lift the ban on oil shale development which the new Democrat Congress enacted last year," McConnell continued. "Our western states are sitting on a sea of oil three times as large as the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. Yet, at the insistence of the Democrat majority, we aren't allowed to touch it."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dismissed the GOP proposal.

by Jim Tankersley

On a cold day in Springfield, Ill., 17 months ago, Barack Obama promised America a new kind of politics to solve its most pressing challenges: war, oil dependence, failing schools, economic struggles.

"What's stopped us from meeting these challenges," he said, announcing his presidential campaign, "is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What's stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics -- the ease with which we're distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle the big problems of America."

Two months later, John McCain made a similar promise to combat a similar list of problems, including foreign oil dependence.

"The American people aren't interested in an election that offers platitudes instead of principles and insults instead of ideas; an election that results - no matter who wins - in four years of unkept promises and a divided government that is little more than a battleground for the next election," McCain said in his own kick-off speech. "They're tired of the old politics. Americans are acutely aware of our problems, and their patience is at an end for politicians who value incumbency over principle, and for partisanship that is less a contest of ideas than an uncivil brawl over the spoils of power."

Neither candidate - and neither of their political parties - have lived up to those promises this summer.

Nowhere is this more clear than in America's current debate over high oil prices. Both parties, in Washington, have dug ideological trenches that blame the other for the problem but, experts suggest, would do little to combat it. Republicans are screaming for more domestic oil drilling. Democrats are screaming for a crackdown on speculators and a tax on oil companies' windfall profits.

Congress will resume the debate this week. It's a chance for McCain or Obama to prove they're serious about changing how Washington works.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Congress left Washington last week for the Fourth of July break, but gasoline prices take no holiday - and neither does the campaign by congressional Republican leaders to push for more domestic drilling.

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner is highlighting today's CNN/Opinion Research poll finding that 73 percent of Americans in favor of expanded offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in protected U.S. waters. The survey of 1,000 Americans from June 26 to 29 is the latest to show rising support among beleaguered consumers for increasing access to America's oil reserves.

"For decades, Democrats have locked up our nation's natural energy sources, and with $4.10 per gallon gasoline and $145 per barrel oil, American families and small businesses are literally paying the price. While the Democratic Majority refuses to schedule meaningful legislation to help reduce gasoline prices, the American people are saying 'enough is enough.' "

Democrats say such drilling would harm the environment while doing little to reduce prices at the pump. Forty-nine percent of poll respondents believe environmental protection should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth, while 44 percent said the government should focus on economic growth, even at the expense of the environment.

Carroll Muffett, deputy campaigns director at Greenpeace, called the choice "a false dichotomy."

"In truth, what is truly good for the environment is what is truly good for the economy, because a shift to better energy solutions would create jobs," Muffett told CNN.

by Jim Tankersley

Congress returns to work next week with an enormous national outcry to address: the rising cost of gasoline, which polls show has surged to the top of voters' minds.

The political parties in Washington are pushing very different proposals they promise will bring relief at the pump. Republicans want to expand domestic oil drilling, a plan many Democrats and other critics say wouldn't affect gas prices for years because of delays in bringing new supply out of the ground and to market.

Democrats are focused on a package of measures to crack down on what they call price-inflating abuse of the oil market, including price gouging and oil speculation. "Increasing evidence shows that the run-up in crude oil prices and gasoline is being driven by larger trader banks, pension and hedge funds," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said last month. Speculation may have as much, if not more, to do with high gas prices than any Saudi Sheik."

An article in the July 7 issue of the New Yorker magazine rebuts Durbin - and, to a lesser extent, the Republicans - with a simple argument: that the real cause of soaring gas prices is too complicated for Congress to do much about this summer.

"The difficulty for Congress, of course, is that none of the problems that have driven up the price of oil lend themselves to a quick fix," the New Yorker's James Surowiecki concludes, "and most, like the boom in global demand and the inaccessibility of certain oil fields, aren't under our control at all... Our dependence on foreign oil, together with the fiscal fecklessness that has helped reduce the value of the dollar, means that there is no easy way out of where we are. But in an election year that's hardly a message that anyone in Washington is going to deliver."

Check out the full article here.

by William Neikirk

LEWES, Del.-- At one of the outlet malls between this small town by the bay and nearby Rehobeth Beach, a salesperson laments the decline in customers this summer. Gas prices and a tough economy are to blame, she said.

"You can't keep pushing this stuff on people," she added. "They have to conserve their money."

This is one small parable in how inflation can cause recession, but it is a rather widespread view across the country. On a drive to Kentucky from Washington, D.C. and back to the beach, traffic seemed a tad lighter, and so was the line at the popular ice cream store in downtown Lewes.

Yes, it feels like a downturn, but commerce is not dead, an important thing to remember. People are still driving their SUVs to the beach, and frequenting the restaurants and bars. But there is a noticeable scaling back, especially when a fill-up the gas station can easily hit $65 or more.

One cannot get one's arms around how much of a storm is coming, and just how deep any downturn might be. The huge decline in the stock market on Thursday represented another crack in confidence and proved chastening to market experts who had represented this as a "buying opportunity" only a few weeks ago.

by Mark Silva

Now the gloves come off in the gas war.

As Americans prepare to tank up for the Fourth of July holiday, President Bush says motorists are paying "the price at the pump'' for Democratic obstruction.

That means Democratic opposition to oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Bush has long proposed, and drilling off-shore on regions of the Outer Continental Shelf which have been off-limits since 1981 for environental concerns.

Bush this week made a Rose Garden pitch for off-shore drilling, acknowledging that in the short run it won't alleviate pressure on gas prices -- the Energy Department says production probably couldn't begin there until 2017. And he made the pitch in his weekly radio address today, accusing Democrats of balking at drilling that could eventuallly make the United States less dependent on foreign oil and give motorists a break.

"The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world,'' Bush says today. "One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production.

"Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction.'

"If congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action,'' said the president, repeating a line he delivered in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, "they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act.''