Has anyone else kept up with what Congress has been doing, or not doing, lately?  Our fine government servants seem to be on a mission to completely waste the time and money of every American, while blaming anyone else but themselves for the policies causing suffering in our nation.  It really doesn’t matter who becomes the next President, since they’ll both try to ruin America, so maybe we should concentrate on voting in a Congress that will actually work for the American people.

One of the greatest pains to Americans right now is the price of gas.  We all inevitably let out a big sigh whenever we fill up our gas tanks lately, and there seems to be no end in sight for these outrageous prices.  Despite that over 1.3 million Americans have signed the petition at American Solutions to “Drill Here. Drill Now,” and that most polls suggest that about 70% of Americans favor drilling (Rasmussen, Zogby, Pew, CNN, FOX), the Democrats in Congress refuse to help the American people. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she will not allow debates about drilling, and has not only blamed President Bush for soaring gas prices, but has blamed the Senate as well.  Perhaps someone should remind Speaker Pelosi of that saying when you point a finger at someone, there are three more pointing back at you.

The Democrats have tried to paint the Republicans as the ones stalling efforts to curb gas prices due to Republican objection to open up the strategic reserves, and for not supporting a recent bill that targets oil speculators.

"The Republican senators have chosen to take a dodge," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "If you don't like our speculation bill, what do you want? Silence. They said they want this energy debate to go on forever." 

What Republicans want is what the American people want: to use our own resources.  Democrats don’t seem to understand the dynamics of speculation at all.  If speculators perceive that there will be a great surge in supply, the speculative price will go down, as it did when President Bush rescinded the executive order against offshore drilling. 

Democrats also don’t seem to understand that the oil in the strategic reserve was acquired by drilling!  Democrats want to open up the reserve, and want OPEC to produce more oil, then turn around and say there’s no supply problem, and we can’t drill our way out.

So what has Congress been doing lately?  Well, a bill sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama was pushed through committee not too long ago.  And what important issue did Barack Obama actually sponsor?  The Global Poverty Act of 2007 (S. 2433).  This bill “Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.”

According to Cliff Kincaid at Accuracy in Media, Obama’s bill “makes levels of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations.”  According to this plan, the U.S. would be forced to pay 0.7 percent of GNP in increased foreign aid spending (about $65 billion a year) over a thirteen year period, which adds up to about $845 billion.  That’s $845 billion of American taxpayer money, and not a dime goes towards helping Americans.

“In addition to seeking to eradicate poverty, that declaration commits nations to banning ‘small arms and light weapons’ and ratifying a series of treaties, including the International Criminal Court Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol (global warming treaty), the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

Phyllis Schlafly calls the Global Poverty Act “a giant step toward the Millennium Goals of global governance and international taxes on Americans,” adding, “Tell your senators to kill this un-American bill.”

Congress has also passed another giant bailout bill recently in the housing sector.  According to David Rogers, “Treasury will gain unprecedented power to lend money to and even purchase an equity interest in the two mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, over the next 17 months. At the same time, the Federal Housing Administration is granted $300 billion in new loan guarantee authority in hopes that the FHA can help establish a new floor for home prices and be a source of refinancing for households at risk of foreclosure.”

Everyone should remember that the Treasury has no money of its own.  Taxpayers are footing this bill. 

The bill also includes $15 billion in new housing-related tax breaks and almost $4 billion in aid to help in urban communities with high foreclosures.

Americans have become so focused on the President, that they forget how much power actually lies in the Congress.  The President doesn’t pass legislation, Congress does.  The President can’t help our wallets at the pump, Congress can.  Obama can give speeches about hope and change all day, while John McCain goes on and on about national security, but Congress is ultimately responsible for creating the laws to keep this country on track.

Congress is meant to be the representative voice of the people, yet they refuse to hear our voice.  We need to send them a message this November that America belongs to the American people.