Lately the Puckett for Congress team has been promoting the American Solutions’ “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less” campaign that is focusing on putting grassroots pressure on Congress to open up access to American oil resources and expand domestic refinery capacity.  (Click here to learn more about Luke’s approach to domestic drilling.)

Congress has dallied about energy independence for years.  Even as late as last year the new Democratic majority was staunchly opposed to allowing energy companies to drill for American oil in environmentally friendly ways.  Although other countries that posses large oil resources are drilling for their own oil (think of Saudi Arabia, Canada, Venezuela, and on the list goes) the United States is not tapping into its own massive oil resources even as the price of oil and refined fuels climbs higher and higher and as citizens feel more and more pain in their wallet at the pump.

Fortunately, our work here in the 2nd Congressional District has had something of an impact on our sitting congressman.  He recently came out in favor of drilling for oil in ANWR.  But isn’t it frustrating that it he didn’t have the foresight and the vision to lead on this issue last year when he cast at least 4 votes to block our access to our own oil resources?  High gas prices didn’t start this year, they’ve been going up for several years now and any leader would have recognized the need to drill for American oil.

If you have not yet done so, take a moment to sign the American Solutions “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less” petition and watch the video below.

By: Luke Puckett

Hoosiers are rightfully frustrated as they pay $4 or more for a gallon of gas. Every time they fill up they are painfully reminded of our nation’s excessive dependence on foreign oil. For decades now we’ve heard a lot of talk about energy independence. In 1970 we imported 12% of our annual oil consumption. Last year we imported 66% of oil that we use to fuel our cars, our homes, and our transportation industry.

The rising price of gas should come as no surprise to our leaders. Since 2003 the price of oil has climbed higher and higher and recently it hit a record of $138 a barrel. You can be sure that right now there are some very happy oil producers in the Middle East.

Fuel and oil prices have risen in part because current oil production levels cannot keep pace with a growing global demand. Countries such as India and China are going through a growth spurt that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

So does all of this mean Americans have to get used to paying higher fuel prices? No! The good news is that we can begin to lower the price at the pump by doing several things. First, we need to rid ourselves of excessive government regulations that hold us hostage to foreign oil. Government regulations stand between us and lower gas prices and energy independence.

From the arctic tundra of ANWR to the cold dark depths of the Gulf Coast seabed and the outer continental shelf, billions upon billions of barrels of oil wait to be tapped into. Why is that we aren’t working to extract the roughly 1.2 trillion barrels of oil in the shale of Colorado and Utah? Why is that the Chinese can drill in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to their Cuban friends but the United States can’t drill in that same Gulf?

The answer is energy companies are prohibited by federal law from tapping into some of our most promising oil fields. Washington has told these companies that they cannot use environmentally friendly drilling technology to bring this oil to the surface and onto the American market. Just last year Rep. Joe Donnelly voted at least 4 times to prevent us from drilling for domestic oil.

In addition to increasing domestic oil production we need to allow for the construction of new oil refineries. It’s been over 30 years since a new refinery was built in our country and if we merely allow for more domestic oil drilling without allowing for new refineries to be built, a bottleneck will be created and Americans will still be paying high gas prices. Congress and the federal government must act to allow more refineries to be built and existing refineries to be expanded. We don’t need the kind of politics that led Rep. Joe Donnelly to vote last July to condemn the expansion of a Midwest oil refinery.

The second thing that we must do to bring down high gas prices is focus on long term alternatives to oil. While our nation has immense oil reserves, we must keep the future in mind and begin working today to provide long term energy solutions. In Germany they have successfully used a process that takes coal and turns it into liquid fuel that can be used by vehicles. We must make sure that American companies are free to forge ahead in the area of coal-to-liquid technology.

Renewable energy sources such as ethanol and fuels made from organic matter must also be a part of our nation’s long-term energy plan. While these fuels still need to be perfected before they are ready to replace our current petroleum fuels, now is the time for the research and development to take place.

If I am elected to be the next Congressman from Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, I will make energy independence one of my top priorities. It is time for us to be free to drill for our own oil, lower our gas prices, and begin research and development projects that will give us a future fueled by renewable energy resources.

Luke Puckett is the Republican candidate for Congress in Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District.