McCarthy: President's policies prohibit nation from developing energy sources needed for independence

 Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and House Majority Whip, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his words:

 "This week all eyes were on the Senate to see if they would vote to significantly cut government spending and put us on the path to reduce our deficits and provide the economic certainty needed to grow the economy.‬
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‪ "Even though in February the national deficit hit an all time record of $223 billion, Democrats in the Senate still were calling to continue the status quo by keeping in place the record high spending that our country has seen over the last few years.  This is not sustainable and it is past time for the Senate to get serious about the job the American people sent us here to do – cut spending and get people back to work.  I believe now is the time for Congress to get serious about tightening its belt and managing its budget, just like families back home do each month.‬
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‪ "The American people need to know the truth about our nation’s current fiscal situation and should be afforded the opportunity to have an open and honest debate about how federal spending is hurting families across this country.  There are two paths we can take as a country: Senator Reid’s plan that continues spending at current inflated rates and continues to have our debt burden our economy, or the path we have proposed in our budget measure that rolls back spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels.  Moving forward, my colleagues and I will continue to offer policy options that get people working by removing economic uncertainty and putting us back on a path to prosperity.‬

  "As gas prices continue to rise, we are reminded again of the President’s actions that have made it more difficult for our country to become more energy independent.  Although we have an abundant supply of natural resources in our country that we can utilize to meet our energy needs, we do not have the policies that allow us to take advantage of these resources and our innovative culture to develop new sources of energy and create jobs here at home.  To help Washington and the Administration pursue policies that will create new jobs in our domestic energy industry, my colleagues and I this week launched the American Energy Initiative: http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Energy-Initiative.  By increasing production and innovation for oil, natural gas, solar, wind and other sources of energy, we will create jobs, meet our energy needs and make our nation more secure.  We should start now by reducing the very real and exceedingly burdensome regulatory rules that stifle domestic energy development and production.‬

‪ "The future of the country depends on whether we are up for taking on the big problems today. Otherwise, we will face even bigger problems tomorrow.  I’ll continue to fight for you and your family to ensure a brighter future for our nation.