The Opinion Blog

Expanding offshore drilling would be 'terrible mistake'

Ripped from the wires ... Dianne Feinstein presents her counterargument to proponents of lifting the current federal ban on offshore energy exploration:

By Dianne Feinstein

There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling.

Just this week, the president lifted the executive order banning drilling that George H.W. Bush put in place in 1990. And he's asked Congress to lift its own moratorium on oil exploration on the outer continental shelf -- which includes coastal waters as close as three miles from shore.

Back to basics the key to government repair

From the morning email ... Lee Hamilon says fixing government is simple; return to constitutional principles:

By Lee H. Hamilton

We are at a profoundly unsettled time in our nation's history, with more than two-thirds of Americans professing in surveys that they believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. They are partly reflecting concerns of the moment -- the Iraq war, high gas prices, our economic travails -- but polling also shows a more deep-seated dismay at the track our political system has taken.

Our politics is fragmented and often mean-spirited. Americans are disappointed by a sense that we lack unity and national purpose. They are disillusioned by a political leadership that has failed to instill these things, and many believe they and their concerns are unrepresented in the halls of power. Faith in our system is ailing.

55 mph proposal gets one-finger salute

Ripped from the wires ... In an editorial today, the Miami Herald says lowering the national speed limit to 55 mph is the wrong way to pursue energy conservation:

With gas prices soaring to record highs and approval ratings for Congress hovering in the low 20s, there is great temptation for members of Congress to do something. Anything that appears constructive will do, thank you. This apparently is what Sen. John Warner, R-Va., had in mind last week when he suggested the country could save energy by lowering the national speed limit to 55 miles per hour. The idea is a throwback to the 1970s, a piece of nostalgia that isn't worth revisiting.

We need to exploit ALL our energy options -- Rep. Brown

Here's an advance look at an energy piece submitted by our man in Congress, U.S. Rep. Henry Brown:

By Henry E. Brown, Jr.

As energy prices continue to set records, my office has been flooded with your calls, emails and letters demanding solutions. You have even sent in drill bits saying that we need to increase domestic energy production as soon as possible.

As a former farmer and businessman, I know the impact high prices are having on South Carolina families and businesses. As a member of Congress, I understand the extent of this energy challenge and believe that it also represents a challenge to our security. That's why I am proud to be leading the fight up in Washington for an all-of-the-above solution.

All I really know about Congress is that I dislike it

From the morning e-mail ... Lee Hamilton. a former Democratic congressman from Indiana and co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, reports that many of us don't understand how Congress works but possess negative views of the institution regardless:

Bloomington, IN - While Americans acknowledge that there are substantial shortcomings in the public’s knowledge of and engagement with Congress, this doesn’t restrain them from taking an extremely negative view of the legislative branch, according to a public opinion survey commissioned by the Center on Congress.

Asked to grade Americans on “following what is going on in Congress,” 71 percent of survey respondents gave the citizenry either a D or F. And on “contacting members of Congress on issues that concern them,” 69 percent of those surveyed gave citizens either a D or F.

We need nation-building here at home

Ripped from the wires ... Tom Friedman says there is only one in the presidential campaign: the decline of America:

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Just a few months ago, the consensus view was that Barack Obama would need to choose a hard-core national-security type as his vice presidential running mate to compensate for his lack of foreign policy experience and that John McCain would need a running mate who was young and sprightly to compensate for his age.

Come August, though, I predict both men will be looking for a financial wizard as their running mates to help them steer America out of what could become a serious economic tailspin.

I do not believe nation-building in Iraq is going to be the issue come November -- whether things get better there or worse. If they get better, we'll ignore Iraq more; if they get worse, the next president will be under pressure to get out quicker. I think nation-building in America is going to be the issue.

S.C. DOT to Congress: Gasoline tax no longer cuts it

From the morning e-mail ... The S.C. DOT chief tells a congressional subcommittee today that the nation needs some other funding source for highways besides the gasoline tax:

S.C. Transportation Secretary H.B. "Buck" Limehouse Jr. told members of Congress that the fuel tax is not providing the needed revenue to meet the needs of the country's transportation infrastructure. Limehouse testified in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning before the Highway & Transit Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Subcommittee invited Limehouse and others to express their views on the current fuel crisis and its impact on the nation.

Limehouse pointed out that the increase in fuel prices has reached a point where the public is consciously driving fewer miles, which results in decreased revenues and increased costs for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, creating a two-edged sword for the agency.

Graham and friends pitch a GI Bill education alternative

From the afternoon e-mail ... U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pitches his GI Bill education rights idea for servicemen and women and their families:

Transferability of Veterans GI Benefits Included in Iraq Supplemental

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the transferability provision being included in the Iraq supplemental funding bill.

Transferability was one of the major differences between the Webb GI Bill and the competing proposal offered by Graham along with Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Richard Burr (R-North Carolina).

The transferability provision allows service members to transfer their education benefits to their spouse or children.  It will bolster recruitment and retention in addition to encouraging service members to continue their military careers.

Taxing 'windfall profits' could drive gas prices even higher

Ripped from the wires ... Do you blame Big Oil for your misery at the pump? Susan Taylor Smith explains why you're wrong:

By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN

My husband's boyhood friend, Gene Chewning, is as bummed as anyone about high gas prices. On a recent trip he took his Toyota Avalon (28 highway miles per gallon) instead of his Ford Expedition (19 mpg).

So you might be surprised to learn where Gene directed his ire while watching members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee lambaste the big oil companies for their record profits.

"What a load of populist grandstanding by the Democrats!'' Gene railed in an e-mail to my husband. ''They refused to even listen to what the oil executives had to say because the truth might confuse America.''

Affordable food matters more than plentiful fuel

Ripped from the wires ... In an editorial Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News explains why it's time to cap the federal subsidy for corn-based ethanol:

Government economists predict the ethanol industry will consume one-third of the corn that U.S. farmers produce this year.

That's enough to virtually guarantee months -- if not years -- of high food prices. Corn for food is in a losing competition with corn for fuel, and that's helping drive food prices sky high.

With consumer relief in mind, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison wisely introduced legislation last week to freeze the corn-based ethanol mandate at the current level. The measure, which has co-sponsorship from Texas Sen. John Cornyn and other Republican lawmakers, deserves quick congressional approval.