As the cost of gasoline rises and our dependence on foreign oil continues to increase, the effect of sending over $100 billion each year to OPEC nations hurts every American.

Among the many important provisions in the energy bill are the creation of an estimated half million new jobs, increased oil production, blackout protection, controlling fertilizer costs by stabilizing natural gas prices and enacting new efficiency benchmarks.

The lack of health care coverage has remained very important to me during my time in Congress and as a member of the House Subcommittee on Health, I am working hard with my colleagues to correct these inequalities.

The current system punishes communities which make the investment in creating landfills, only to have them filled by states which refuse to adequately address their waste issues.

The American economy has always been driven by the entrepreneurial nature of its citizens, and blocking access to affordable health care will only suffocate growth within the small business sector of our economy.

In addition, each barrel of oil we save through conservation further decreases our dangerous reliance on unstable Middle East oil.

Americas health care system provides some of the finest doctors and more access to vital medications than any country in the world. And yet, our system has been faltering for many years with the increased cost of health care.