Is There Finally Progress in Congress?
It’s no secret that the fuel crisis is out of control and it is hurting people from one end of the country to the other. Whether you are a farmer, a secretary, a city worker or an executive, paying $4 or more for gasoline hurts the budget, the wallet and people’s everyday lives.
Some workers are opting for lower paying jobs closer to home because they can’t afford to pay for the gas. Because other companies are struggling financially, other workers are being laid off. There is not enough money to pay for their wages and for the cost of fuel to keep business going.
The country has been speaking out, crying out and begging Congress to come up with some sort of assistance. People are looking for and hoping for a plan that will at least begin to address the fuel and energy issues for the short and long term, and begin to bring some relief.
It is possible that his is finally happening. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina has co-sponsored a bill that may address some of these issues. This is a bipartisan issue and a bipartisan bill that both sides of the aisle seem to be taking note of and taking a positive view toward. In fact, both John McCain and Barak Obama, senators running for president who rarely agree on anything these days, agree that this is a good start and could begin to energize lawmakers in an effort to actually start solving the fuel and energy crisis in this country sooner rather than later.
We have been warned for over a decade that by this point in time the U.S. would be dependent on foreign oil if it did not develop alternatives, but the warning was not heeded as a serious issue soon enough. In 2006, when gas prices were around $2.50 per gallon, they cry for a change was raised with little or no assistance from Congress. As a result, the country gets nearly 70% of its oil from foreign countries. Thus, the crisis we face now. Instead of being ahead of the curve and developing alternatives, gradually using less foreign oil over the past 15 to 20 years, we have done the opposite, and now have to rush to come up with plans to turn the situation around.
The new plan, backed by 10 senators from both parties, features money to U.S. automakers for creating fuel efficient/alternative energy cars, tax credits to individuals who purchase those cars and other measures, including incentives for offshore drilling.
There are no guarantees, but at least Congress is hearing the voice of the American people who have been trying to get their attention regarding this matter. Hopefully more lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will agree to communicate in a positive way and finish creating this plan and making it comprehensive enough to truly to help citizens who are being hurt in many ways on many levels by this fuel crisis that could have been avoided in the first place.