Rep. Pryce is Chair of the Republican Conference, wants to talk about Medicare:

Seniors are saving an average of $1100/year, premiums are lower than anticipated. Record numbers of seniors have signed up for this program. “Seniors in my district are delighted”. Some are saving thousands and thousands of dollars. They don’t have to cut their pills in half, they cut their bills in half.

Rep. Doolittle has joined us.

We have an important story to tell about fiscal responsibility. When the reconciliation bill was signed, it was the first time in 19 years that non-discretionary defense spending was cut. It was the first time that mandatory spending increases were reduced. This is at the same time that we had huge spending on the war on terror. It’s been a very trying time in which we’ve been able to make these spending reductions. About two-thirds of the budget is mandatory, so it’s hard to make progress there. Every year we want savings on the discretionary side and the mandatory side.

We hear a lot of demagoguery about tax cuts. It’s given us the best economy we’ve had in 25 years. Last year we had a 14% increase in federal revenues. This year it’s projected to be an additional 11% increase. Some 48 of 50 states are in surplus. The fact is, when you cut taxes, it has a multiplier effect — people start businesses, grow businesses. There wouldn’t be this kind of increase in federal revenues without those tax cuts.

On DOER: Chairman Pombo has done a fantastic job, the bill should pass, will reduce everyone’s costs for oil and natural gas.

I supported drilling in ANWR, I supported the earlier Pombo bill, and this piece of legislation — endorsed by the Washington Post — I support, one of 13 in the NJ delegation to support ANWR and this.

Here’s a link to Garrett’s Web site on the Prosperity Project where you can contact him and look at his voting record.

Katherine Harris just showed up.

On Outer Continental Shelf exploration:

Floridians value our beaches, but our economy is driven by our natural resources, so it’s why drilling has been problematic. You can see a rig 35 miles from shore, we don’t want any problems. Since elected, I’ve always been against drilling in the Gulf, but now given the state of the Middle East and Venezuela, we can’t be dependent on that. There are real issues here.

This is a finite resources. Our goal is first and foremost to protect the Gulf and the military mission line. Can’t be rigs there. My bill called for a 125-mile buffer of protection around the rest of the state. And my bill said the Florida legislature would determine this. We want to be in charge of our coastline. My bill has been incorporated into the Bilirakis bill. The Military line — 240 miles due east of Tampa is in the Manager’s amendment.

There needs to be a balance. Will vote for the Manager’s amendment, will vote for the Bilirakis amendment. I think there will be a bill that comes back from Conference that’s stronger and I’ll support it.

Florida only has 5% of the vote in the Congress. We ought not let Congress decide this. I want Floridians to be in charge of our destiny, our coast.

First up is Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida. On the DOER Act:

Florida delegation has been urging a 100-mi buffer. There will be a compromise. The moratorium will be there for the first 50 miles, and an opt-in by the state legislature for the next 50 miles. The Bilirakis amendment will likely be defeated, for a 125-mile moratorium. I will support the 50-mile moratorium with 50-mile opt-in.

We’re moving in the direction in the Congress of realizing that we need to be tapping our own resources. A recent poll in the Miami Herald shows that a majority of people in Florida now support exploration, as long as it doesn’t hurt tourism. This will help Florida, and our tourism industry, as many people drive to Fla.

In the Senate, I think Sens. Martinez/Nelson might agree with the 50-50 compromise, as opinions have changed in Florida, and prices are going up. Also, given revenue sharing, this will provide funds for infrastructure and for education. This is a bonus for us. States will get money from the royalties.

OK, we’re down on the Hill, in the Cannon House Office Building for the “blog row”. Drop us an e-mail if you have any questions.

Here’s an update on the various developments as we press to lift the quarter-century-old ban on tapping our own resources:

– Florida Governor Jeb Bush, on Capitol Hill yesterday, urged support for the DOER Act. Doesn’t get much clearer than that, when the Governor of the state that has birthed the most Congressional opponents speaks out in favor of lifting the ban. Here’s a radio ad the CAES has been running in Florida. Maybe it worked.

– Three of the sponsors of the DOER Act — Reps. Peterson (R-PA), Jindal (R-LA) and Melancon (D-LA), have recorded some actualities on the topic, making their case. They can be found at the excellent DOER Act site built by the House Resources Committee by clicking here. They also have a great “Myths vs. Facts” piece.

– To those who play on the hysteria about potential spills: First of all, natural gas — a big part of this bill — doesn’t spill at all. As for oil, even after two major hurricanes, not a drop of oil spilled. Here’s a fact sheet on that topic as well, setting the record straight.

– Finally, here’s a link to the Key Vote card we sent to every Congressional office yesterday, reminding them that this is a critical issue for the continued competitiveness of America’s manufacturers.

If you’ve not already done so — and even if you have — please click here to tell your member of Congress to support HR 4761, the DOER Act.

For those who would think that the issue of unleashing our supplies of natural gas is a theoretical issue, look at the chart on the left. (Click to enlarge it.) Remember that natural gas prices are set on a national, not a world, level. We sit on an enormous reserve yet we pay the highest prices in the world for natural gas. As prices have climbed, we’ve shed manufacturing jobs. Look at the post below on Indiana. Manufacturing brings prosperity with it, we power this economy, buy the technology, buy the services.

In this space tomorrow, we will post a link to the names of every member of Congress who votes for higher energy prices and against manufacturing jobs.

Better tell them to vote “yes” before it’s too late.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the law — signed by President Eisenhower — that created the Interstate Highway System. Ike proposed $50 billion for what he saw as a 10-year project. (Heck, the “Mixing Bowl project on Route 95 outside DC is a 10-year project alone!), but it took close to 50 years — and a lot more than $50 billion — to complete it all. Still, it opened this country to tremendous growth, travel and commerce. The shipment of goods so vital to our everyday lives became faster and cheaper. Productivity soared. In short, Ike’s vision for America was realized.

So now it’s 2006 and we are 16th in the world in broadband deployment. A new highway awaits. The Senate had an important vote against net regulation yesterday. We need to be vigilant on this front, to make sure the Internet remains free of the clog of regulation and that it is not encumbered by stop lights and cross-traffic but that it is able to move as quickly as possible. Indiana’s competition doesn’t only come from Michigan these days, it comes from Bangalore and Beijing. Infrastructure — including broadband — is a big part of the competitiveness equation.

And so on this 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System, we should commit ourselves to be first in the world when it comes to the information superhighway as well.

We’ve been invited to a “blog row” on Capitol Hill; today from 11 – 3, hosted by the House Republican Conference. And yes, if the House Democrats do one and invite us, we’ll go there, too. We keep waiting for that to happen.

In any event, we’ll be down there, expect a good number of members of Congress to come through. You know what we’ll be asking, what’s on our minds today. If you have a question you’d like us to pose, just drop us an e-mail and we’ll try to get it teed up. We’ll be posting here throughout the event.

Stay tuned.