E-Newsletter

All Fossil Fuels are Next

In an editorial board meeting with the San Francisco Chronicle in 2008, then Senator Obama made a comment that has always troubled me:

“When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, you know, under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”

And, as reported just last week by the Wall Street Journal the Sierra Club has launched a new battle plan entitled, “Beyond Natural Gas.”  As you can imagine, like coal, “the natural gas industry is dirty, dangerous and running amok,” said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.  First the Obama Administration and its allies put a regulation stranglehold on coal; now – while continuing their attack on coal – they’re turning their attention to natural gas.

President Obama knows that when you drive up energy prices it costs businesses and consumers.  He said so in the statement I quoted above.  One might ask, who does President Obama think the ‘consumers’ are?  You, I, and even the President, know.  They are the single moms trying to hold down a job, raise children, and pay their bills including the bills to keep the lights and heat on.  They are the senior citizens worried sick about how they’re going to cover their food costs, medical bills, and yes, the light and heat bills each month.  The very consumers that President Obama’s policies are going to cost money are middle class Americans trying to get by in this stagnant economy.

I’ve said for months, when the President has more ‘flexibility’ (as he told the Russians back in March), the war on coal was likely going to expand to a total war on fossil fuels.  This latest battle plan from the Sierra Club is just another indicator that the President and his allies aren’t going to wait until after the election to at least begin planning the war against natural gas.

Balancing Working Out of Town & Being A Good Father

As many of you know, in an effort to balance spending so much time in D.C. and on the road, I bring my kids up to Washington with me for some one-on-one dad time.  With my other two kids still in school, my youngest son, Starke, made the trip last week.  With the national debt reaching nearly $16 trillion, more than $50,000 per person in the United States, Starke’s visit serves as a valuable reminder of why I’m serving in Congress. 

We cannot keep piling this debt on the backs of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  Congress has a responsibility to the American people to rein in wasteful and excessive spending.  Congress has an obligation to lay out a responsible budget that forces us to live within our means.  And, through fiscal discipline and accountability, Congress has a duty to ensure that our children have the opportunity to make a life for themselves without worrying about paying down heaps of debt they played no part in creating.  I believe this can be done without the doomsday scenarios of those who oppose spending cuts.

As you know, I am a proud supporter of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which would control spending by prohibiting the federal government from spending more than it receives in revenues.  I will continue to fight to secure this amendment and to make sure that your children, like mine, have each and every opportunity that we had, thanks to our parents and grandparents.

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my offices.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671.  To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.