A program at the University of Kentucky supported by Senator Mitch McConnell has received a major federal grant.

From the Courier-Journal (emphasis added):

The University of Kentucky has received a major grant -- more than $10 million, funded by the National Institutes for Health, to study the relationships among environmental pollutants, nutrition and disease -- that underscores the role of the state's two major research institutions and their drive to achieve national recognition as research campuses.

This is the kind of thing that tells you why state support for research faculty and facilities at UK and the University of Louisville is so very important.

This is a federal grant, and Sen. Mitch McConnell supported the application for money from the Superfund Basic Research Program, and he has earmarked research funding for work UK has done at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Kentucky's largest Superfund site.

It's the kind of research work that puts UK in the company of universities such as North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Iowa, Dartmouth, Berkeley and University of California-San Diego, which are among the best public and private institutions in America.

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The $10 million grant will support the efforts of more than 50 scientists and students representing more than 15 academic departments in the colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy.

There's nothing esoteric about the work that will be done. It's about real problems in the lives of real people.

From National Review Online (emphasis added):

Democrats are obsessed with the idea of laying the blame of record high gasoline prices on someone – George Bush, OPEC or anyone who doesn’t ride a bicycle to work. But maybe Dems should look in a mirror. The Democrats voted four times in the past year against money-saving, domestic oil production plans – plans that lower the price at the pump and return billions of dollars to the pockets of Americans.

In a letter to President Bush on May 12th, Democratic leaders said, “unfortunately, despite recent entreaties by you and Vice President Cheney, OPEC has voted three times in the last year against raising production, meaning rising gas prices continue to sap a greater portion of Americans’ paychecks.”

Democrats do not mention the past four Democratic votes against increased domestic oil production in US. Dating back to June 2007, Democrats consistently vote down domestic oil production in favor of foreign dependence.

Dems rejected the “Gas Price Act” on June 13, 2007 which planned to improve domestic fuels security. On June 14, 2007, Democrats rejected Sen. John Warner’s (R-Va) proposal to authorize the State of Virginia to petition for authorization to conduct gas exploration and drilling activities in the coastal zone of the State. On June 19, 2007, Democrats denied Sen. Jim Bunning’s (R-Ky) proposal to provide standards for clean coal-derived fuels.

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) sponsored the most recent domestic energy proposal in Senate. The Senators’ plan, titled “The American Energy Production Act” (S.2958), projects a production of 24 billion barrels of oil domestically as well as opens up the potential of oil shale and coal-to-liquid technology.

This excess oil comes from areas where oil is already known to be available, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plan (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The two areas, in addition to providing oil, produces hundreds of thousands of jobs and saves the U.S. economy approximately $40 billion annually.

Had former President Clinton not vetoed ANWR in 1995, America would have 1 million barrels of oil per day produced domestically. This would have eliminated much dependence on radical regimes in the Middle East and kept gas prices from rising.

In regards to OCS, already the Cubans, with the help of communist China, attempt to get a greedy fist on the available oil off the coast of Florida. American policy prohibits Americans from reaping the benefits of the area. Fidel Castro can drill, America cannot.

The clean coal-derived section of the Domenici-McConnell plan mandates the production of 6 billion gallons of coal-derived fuels by 2022. The United States is one of the leading countries in coal reserves. This plan provides a 3.75 percent reduction in oil imports by that same year.

Democrats rejected the Domenici-McConnell plan by a 42-56 vote on May 13th . So, what is the Democrats’ alternative idea?

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Read the rest of this column here.

You can help Senator McConnell in the fight to lower gas prices. Sign the petition and encourage Congress to support American innovation and energy exploration.