Drill Now: Gaining Momentum, will Congress act?

Everyone knows that markets respond in an anticipatory way. Therefore the U.S. simply signaling an intention to drill will reduce the price at the pump. Best guess is about a $1 per gallon drop in price over one or two short weeks time.

Prove it, you say? Look at President Bush recent removal of an executive order that has no effect of law, considering a current federal law preempts it. Just having made that move dropped the per gallon price by fifty cents in about a weeks time. The market responded.

So what needs to be done? Congress needs to take up an energy bill and the Democratic majority needs to procedurally allow the drilling amendment to be brought forward. Unfortunately, the Democratic leadership in Congress, especially in the U.S. House of Representatives went on a (5) week summer break without bringing the bill to the floor. Why? Strategy! They knew that their were enough votes in congress to pass the drilling amendments, so they gavel session to a close and sent congress home to campaign.

In the meantime...

Senator Barack Obama has switched from opposed to drilling to "willing to consider it."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has switched from opposed to drilling to "an openness to allowing an offshore drilling vote."

They must have finally got around to reading the polls.

The big question now is...will she actually follow through and allow the vote?
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(see below for Boehner and Blunts quotes about the speaker's intention)

“If Speaker Pelosi is truly sincere about having a vote on deep-ocean oil and gas drilling to help bring down fuel costs, she should use her power as Speaker to call Congress back into session immediately and schedule a vote on the American Energy Act,” Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement released Tuesday morning.

“I was certainly encouraged to hear the Speaker last night suggest a willingness to allow the House to have an up-or-down vote on the merits of unlocking the potential of America’s abundant energy resources. But the proof will be in the proverbial pudding,” Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) stated.