Cantor: Energy independence will take WWII-like collaboration

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: July 12, 2008

Eric Cantor, a Richmond Republican who represents Culpeper in the U.S. House of Representatives, believes America needs to get serious about alternative fuels and achieve energy independence by the year 2025.

However, a Democratic-led Congress is making it difficult to bring shorter-term relief at the gas pump through domestic offshore drilling, he said in a teleconference call reaching thousands of voters around the Piedmont Wednesday night.

Cantor, up for re-election to a fifth term in November, compared the energy crisis facing Americans today to the labor and transportation shortages of World War II.

More than 60 years ago, millions of Americans planted fruits and vegetables in “Victory Gardens” to alleviate the situation in the name of patriotism.
America needs to “harken back” to those days with nationwide collaboration, he said.

“That type of collaboration when the country put the man on the moon,” Cantor said. “The type of effort it took to develop the atom bomb when we had to in World War II when we were under attack.

“It’s with that type of intensity we need to tackle alternative energy.”

Though voters were free to ask the congressman about anything during Wednesday’s call, in the final 20 minutes of the 45-minute Q&A, the questions/comments were all about gas prices.

“Why in the world has gasoline jumped so high in four years? Why do we let some foreign countries dictate what we are going to pay for it?” asked a Mr. Hancock, from Orange.

An 80-year-old woman from Louisa County said escalating prices for just about everything is taking a toll on her finances.

“I live by myself, and I would like to see prices and gasoline come down a little bit,” she said. “It’s hard to live when you’re by yourself.”

Cantor agreed that the cost of fuel is impacting many things, including the cost of groceries.

On average, he said, American families are paying $100 more per month at the grocery store compared to this time last year. “That’s pretty steep inflation.”

That’s why Congress needs to move fast to “open up” its offshore gas and oil resources, Cantor said. This could take pressure off prices at the pumps by increasing supply, he explained, while allowing a corresponding path for research and development of alternative fuels by 2025 — an initiative of Sen. John McCain.

“The technology is in place to be able to explore for energy in the deep oceans safely,” Cantor said, mentioning how when Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 there were no signs of spillage from energy operations there.

America needs to stop relying on Middle Eastern countries for fuel, he said.

“They don’t mean to do us any good,” Cantor said, noting that the region earns nearly $1 trillion a year “on the backs of American taxpayers.”

Alternative energy means looking at a mixture of sources, Cantor went on, naming nuclear as well as wind and solar power.

The main reason why oil prices “have shot up so high,” he said, is a matter of supply and demand. As huge countries like China and India become more developed, the demand for oil has skyrocketed, Cantor said.

“The demand for fossil fuels is growing, but the supply 10 to 15 years out is not matching the demand curve,” he said.

Others theorize that “market forces” like oil speculation cause more price escalation, Cantor said, though hearkening back to his earlier statement that the main contributor to high energy prices is supply and demand.

“What keeps us from drilling in the Atlantic?” asked a man from Bumpass.

Cantor placed that responsibility on the other political party.

“The Democratic Party in control of Congress will not allow a vote today to open up the reserves,” he said. “They refuse to allow bills to benefit Virginia and enhance production of clean coal technology.”

But why has it taken Congress so long to address the issue of energy, asked a Mr. Mitchell from Gordonsville.

He, and other callers, remembered the ’70s when gas prices were unnaturally high because of Middle Eastern constraints on supply.

“I think election year has a lot to do with it,” said the Gordonsville man.

The reason why no relief is being found now, Cantor said, is because of the Democratic block of offshore drilling operations.

“There is not a majority in Congress that buys that so we find ourselves in the fix that we are in.”

Cantor also recognized the value of conservation and cutting down on consumption.

“We are very wasteful in this country,” he said, referring to another caller’s statement. “Europe has had a much higher price for gas for a much longer time and people changed their habits, and we’ve seen that in this country.”

A man from Rappahannock County encouraged the Republican representative “to walk across the aisle” in Congress to talk to his Democratic counterparts about the critical issue.

“You say we need to get together on this. I haven’t seen you do that.”

Cantor said now is the time for Congress and all Americans to come together for energy solutions.

“It is time to stop the rhetoric,” he said. “We need to make progress on giving relief to families right now.”

Cantor’s local spokeswoman, Stacey Johnson, said the congressman hosts Q&A sessions with district voters “probably once a month.” Between 20,000 and 30,000 calls were made to voters in Culpeper, Madison, Page, Rappahannock, Orange and Louisa counties Wednesday.

“It’s a great way for constituents to hear what is going on in Congress,” she said, noting that when the teleconference began after 6 p.m., “Eric had literally just walked off the floor (of Congress) and picked up the phone.”

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .

Here’s a snapshot of campaign contributions to Congressman Eric Cantor in 2007 and 2008 from individuals and political action committees associated with the oil, gas, energy and/or transportation industries:

Individuals
* $4,600: Edward Bayuk of Reno, vice president, Jiffy Lube
* $1,800: Albert Chance of New York, president, Expressway Lube Centers
* $2,100: Roger Cole of Mechanicsville, president, Highway Services Venture
* $500: Chester Fannon of Leesburg, Fannon Petroleum Services
* $2,100: Thomas Gottwald of Richmond, CEO of The Ethyl Corp., formerly the Ethyl Gasoline Corp.
* $500: Richard Jaffee of Chicago, Oil Dri Corp. of America, distributor of oil and grease absorbents
* $1,000: Stephen Hupp of Midlothian, Estes Express Lines, a trucking company
* $350: Anthony Kim of Annandale, American Auto Salvage
* $4,400: Theodore Linhart of Richmond, chairman and CEO, Dominion Auto Group
* $500: Barbara Little of Bethesda, Md., vice president, Ethyl Corp.
* $4,400: Jacques Moore of Richmond, owner, Moore Cadillac Company
* $4,600: Paul Morabito of Reno, Big Wheel Truck Stop and Casino
* $1,000: Carter Myers of Charlottesville, Colonial Auto
* $4,600: Max Pearson of Richmond, Pearson Auto Group
* $4,600: Frank Reidy of Virginia Beach, executive, Penn General Energy LLC, oil exploration and production
* $4,600: Robert Rosenthal of Arlington, CEO, Rosenthal Automotive
* $4,600: Billy Sawyer of Mechanicsville, owner, Virginia Motor Speedway

Political action committees
* $2,000: AGL Resources of Atlanta PAC, natural gas distribution
* $2,000: the American Gas Association PAC
* $5,500: Boeing PAC
* $5,000: Chrysler PAC
* $2,000: Constellation Energy PAC, distributor for Baltimore Gas
* $10,000: the CSX Corp. Good Government Fund, international transportation, shipping, rail, trucking, etc.
* $10,000: the National Automotive Dealer’s Association PAC
* $10,000: John Deere PAC
* $2,000: Duke Energy Corp., gas company for Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky
* $9,500: Dominion PAC, gas distribution in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
* $1,000: DTE Energy PAC, natural gas provider in Michigan
* $1,000: Energy Future Holdings PAC of Dallas
* $3,000: Exelon PAC, natural gas distributor, Chicago
* $1,000: Exxon Mobil PAC
* $5,000: General Dynamics PAC, combat vehicles
* $5,000: General Motors PAC
* $8,500: Koch Industries, refinery of gas and diesel, Indiana
* $4,000: Lockheed Martin PAC, jet fighter production
* $5,000: Marathon Oil Company Employees PAC, Detroit
* $1,000: National Petrochemical and Refiners Association PAC
* $1,000: National Propane Gas Association PAC
* $10,000: Norfolk Southern Government Fund
* $2,000: Occidental Petroleum Corp., Dallas
* $2,000: Peabody Energy Corp. PAC, coal company, Missouri
* $2,000: Powerpal of the Edison Electric Institute PAC, natural gas provider
* $2,500: Rolls-Royce PAC
* $2,000: Spectra Energy Corp. PAC, natural gas, Houston
* $9,000: the Trucking PAC
* $5,000: Union Pacific Corp. PAC, railroad
* $9,800: UPS PAC
* $5,000: United Services Automobile Association PAC

Source: fec.gov