Once again, the House has endorsed better utilizing domestic sources of oil and natural gas to address America’s energy needs and lower fuel prices. This week, the House voted 225 to 201 to pass H.R. 5429, The American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act. It authorizes the Interior Department to grant leases for oil and gas exploration, development, and production in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. While the total area authorized for drilling is about 1.5 million acres, the total amount of surface area covered by production facilities, such as drilling platforms or airstrips, would be only 2,000 acres.

Also this week, the House passed the Fiscal Year (FY07) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act by a vote of 378 to 46.

The FY07 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act also passed by a vote of 404 to 20. This legislation includes $15 million for the new bridge below the Folsom Dam, several million dollars for levee improvements along the Lower American River and the Sacramento River Delta, and $9 million for water conservation projects in Placer and El Dorado Counties, among many other provisions benefiting the Fourth Congressional District. Most notably, the full House overwhelmingly endorsed $3 million to study the feasibility of a multipurpose Auburn Dam.

Long Overdue

The last vestige of the Spanish-American War (besides ownership of Puerto Rico and Guam) came to an end yesterday. In 1898, a luxury tax on those who could afford a telephone was imposed in order to fund the Spanish-American War. Long after the last shot was fired – in fact, after 108 years, 18 presidents, and 54 Congresses – the telephone tax will no longer be collected.

While Spain reached peace with the U.S. on August 12, 1898, it took the IRS a bit longer. The Departments of Treasury and Justice have concluded that the government’s continuing lack of success in litigation in five circuit courts justifies the decision to call on end to the phone tax. While it is long overdue, the bottom line good news for taxpayers is that they will no longer be charged the federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service effective July 31, 2006. Moreover, they will be able to claim a refund for the past three years on their 2006 tax returns filed in 2007.

“Guard”–ing the Border

Pursuant to President Bush’s proposal to use the National Guard to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in securing our borders, the chief of the National Guard has announced that that the first wave of 800 National Guard soldiers will head to the southern border next week. In California, Governor Schwarzennegger has consented to using National Guard personnel in this way. While deploying the National Guard along the border is not an ideal or long-term fix, it is an important short-term response to the critical problem of illegal immigration. What is further needed are the measures recently passed by the House, including building border fences, utilizing hi-tech surveillance equipment, and hiring more Border Patrol agents to deter, detect, and detain those seeking to enter our country illegally.

Quote of the Week

“Today, as in the past, there are problems that must be solved and challenges that must be met. We can tackle them with our full strength and creativity only because we are free to work them out in our own way. We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.” – President Ronald Reagan, May 26, 1983.