WASHINGTON, Apr 6, 2006 -- U.S. Newswire

 

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, along with 50 Democratic Senators and Representatives, today sent a letter to President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, urging them to immediately convene an emergency bipartisan national energy summit to bring together lawmakers and stakeholders and solve the problem of America's dependence on foreign and unstable sources of oil.

"Securing our nation's energy future is among the biggest economic and national security challenges facing our generation," wrote the Democrats. "The status quo-in which the security of the United States and the vitality of our domestic economy is left to the whims of foreign regimes and companies that may not have the best interests of our nation at heart-is simply not an option."

Unfortunately, while President Bush announced in his State of the Union address that America is addicted to oil, he has failed to take the actions necessary to fix the problem. Instead, Republicans have allowed oil companies to write America's energy policies instead of putting our security first.

In their letter, the Democrats called for a real commitment from President Bush, asking him to convene a summit that brings together lawmakers from both parties and stakeholders from across the country to find a workable, smart solution to ensure America's energy independence and protect its security.

"The summit would have representation from all facets of American life, including oil companies, automakers, alternative fuel producers, consumers, scientists, environmentalists, transportation experts, state and local leaders, and be open and transparent to the public in a free-flowing format," the letter continues.

"Given the rapidly evolving global economy and the national security-related challenges we face at the dawn of the 21st Century, it is abundantly clear that a 19th Century approach to our national energy strategy will simply not suffice."

Democrats believe energy independence is necessary for America's security, and have unveiled the Real Security plan that will achieve that goal by 2020. Real Security is comprehensive agenda, with policies that are tough AND smart. It is the right program to secure America, and a powerful alternative to the dangerous incompetence of the President and his Republican Party.

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