Reuters on Senator Mitch McConnell's work to promote domestic energy exploration:

A top U.S. Republican cited on Monday a surge in support among liberals for increased energy exploration as a reason why the Democratic-led Congress may act soon to allow expanded drilling in the United States.

President George W. Bush and many Republicans in Congress support opening up drilling as a way of taming high gasoline prices, which have hit a record $4.11 a gallon. Democrats in Congress, however, have been looking at controlling oil speculation as well advocating greater conservation.

"There's clearly a dramatic shift across the ideological divide in America in favor of producing more energy here at home," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

"I can't imagine that the majority (Democrats in Congress) is going to ignore that indefinitely," McConnell added.

He cited a poll released on July 1 by the Pew Research Center that found that 45 percent of respondents who identify themselves as "liberals" said they favor expanded energy exploration, mining, drilling, building more power plants. In February, the figure was just 22 percent.

McConnell and his fellow Republicans have pushed for years for increased U.S. energy production, particularly by opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling.

But they have been stopped by Democrats and liberal activists who fear such drilling in Alaska and off the U.S. shore would threaten the environment.

With polls showing rising gas prices a top concern this election year, McConnell sought to rally support for a Republican bill in the Senate that would seek to increase production as well as conservation.

McConnell said 44 of the 49 Republicans in the 100-member Senate back the bill, and is hopeful many of the 49 Democrats and two Democratic-leaning independents will embrace it.

"We actually need to pass something here," McConnell said of the Senate, which has been tied in knots much of the year on energy and other issues.

McConnell said he was encouraged by an exchange he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had in the chamber earlier in the day on the need to confront rising gas prices.

"We're open to any reasonable approach," Reid said. But the Nevada Democrat added, "let's also not forget that the oil industry already leases 68 million acres in America" that it isn't drilling on.

McConnell said skyrocketing gas prices "should be the number one issue for the Senate." McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, added, "Americans are hurting."

The Politico reports on Senator Mitch McConnell's bi-partisan efforts to pass an energy bill.

Back from an Independence Day recess that saw gas prices peak at more than $4.10 per gallon, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that he’s hoping to entice a handful of Democrats to join him in supporting more domestic drilling, and an aide to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said it may be time for a new “Gang of 14” to break through the partisan impasse on energy issues.

 

GOP senators believe that a number of moderate Democrats would be open to legislation that balances increased energy exploration with conservation. If they’re right, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could lose their grip on energy policy, and the Republicans could score a major coup on the No. 1 issue on the minds of voters.

 

At least five Senate Democrats support more domestic oil and gas exploration, and McConnell is sweetening the deal to make the sale to other moderates: The Kentucky Republican is pushing a package of incentives to boost conservation as well as a measure creating stricter enforcement of commodities markets in exchange for more offshore oil and gas drilling.

 

“The goal,” he said Monday, “is to narrowly craft something that will appeal to Democrats.”

Read the entire article here.

From HotAir:

Democrats in Congress promised to make energy policy a high priority when they returned after the Independence Day break.  Instead, they have quietly scrubbed the schedule of any votes on their energy bill, afraid Republicans will make them vote on increased domestic oil production and force them to choose between popular sentiment for drilling and their environmentalist allies.  Their strategy?  Well, the Hill chooses a good quote:

“Right now, our strategy on gas prices is ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind,’ ” said a Democratic aide.

Before the break, Democrats heralded two bills that supposedly showed their leadership on energy: an anti-speculator measure and a “use it or lose it” bill that forced oil companies to drill on federal leases — whether or not they had found oil yet — or lose the leases immediately.  They attacked Republicans who opposed both bills as oil-company lackeys, but the truth is that neither bill produces a single drop of oil to solve the supply crisis.

Now, both bills have disappeared off of the legislative calendar, and the Republicans have ideas of their own.  Politico reports that Mitch McConnell has a plan to peel off moderate Democrats in the Senate to get approval for drilling by combining the effort with conservation mandates.

Read the entire post here.

From Jed Babbin at Human Events:

Inspired, perhaps, by Newt Gingrich’s “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition, one group -- led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) -- is trying to do something about the price of gasoline right now.

McConnell -- joined by 42 Senate Republicans -- introduced the “Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008” on June 26. The bill -- which Reid has so far refused a vote -- would open up 14 billion barrels of oil in the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling at the option of the states.

 More than three times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia are embedded in Western states’ oil shale, estimated at 800 billion to 2 trillion barrels of recoverable oil. The Gas Price Reduction Act also lifts the Congressionally-imposed moratorium on exploration and development of this huge oil reserve.

McConnell’s bill won’t result in immediate oil production, but it could have an immediate impact, driving down speculators’ effect on oil prices.

Mr. McConnell told me, “The goal here was to have a narrowly-targeted proposal that could do something in the near term and reach out to our Democratic friends, some of whom are open to some of the suggestions that we’re making here today. So the idea is not a partisan check the box exercise, but an actual accomplishment.”

Instead of burdening the economy, as the Democrats’ approach does, the McConnell bill would provide an immense benefit and not just in the supply of oil reaching American markets. Federal and state revenues would gain a huge windfall from the bill. Fifty percent of the tax revenues would go into federal coffers, 37.5% to the states. Only Al Gore Democrats such as Harry Reid and Barack Obama would object to that. Obama, answering a question from CNBC’s John Harwood last month on whether high gasoline prices would benefit us, said “I think I would have preferred a gradual adjustment.” A more stealthy rise, so consumers wouldn’t blame those in Congress who are responsible for blocking access to American oil.

The average price of gasoline has risen more than $1.70/gallon since the Democrats took control of Congress last year. They apparently believe the price rise is a good idea. Answering a question on Fox News Sunday last month, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said, ““Well, it certainly forces some conservation for people that can't afford to fill their tank.”

Democrats have voted three times against increased oil production in the last year. They are content with rising prices. Their economic policy doesn’t accommodate the simple fact that every increase in gasoline prices equates to a pay cut for every working man and woman. Every American family pays the price in a lower standard of living.

On July 6, OPEC chief Chakib Khelil told an Algerian news service that the price of oil will continue to rise because of the falling value of the US dollar. Before the November election, oil prices will likely top $150/barrel. Gasoline may top $5/gallon, driving voters from disgruntlement to deep-seated anger at all in government who have sat on their hands while the gas price crisis worsens.

 Later this week, McConnell will try to move his bill for a floor vote, and Reid will almost certainly block him. Next week, the battle will escalate.

McConnell and the group supporting his bill have a unique political weapon in hand. They have legislation that will benefit each and every American in a tangible way, perhaps in time for the election. All the voters Barack Obama has had trouble reaching -- hourly workers, the middle class families working toward prosperity -- are most affected by the rising price of gasoline. If McConnell can get past the liberal media, who will ignore the bill, and reach those voters he may be able to deprive the Democrats of the momentum they have going into November.