Colorado families are being choked by an energy crisis that has driven up the cost of nearly everything. We need to throw the kitchen sink at this crisis, and that’s exactly what I’ve proposed to do, with a comprehensive energy plan that builds off a proposal originally conceived by ten U.S. senators – five of them Democrats, five of them Republicans.

That plan would expand domestic-energy production, including off-shore drilling, while making historic new investments in renewable energy and efficiency to move America to energy independence. (And despite those who would distort my record, I have also supported and authored legislation to expand responsible off-shore drilling in the past.) This proposal brings together folks across the aisle with its comprehensive approach, so we can stop talking about the energy crisis and start getting something done.

My opponent, Bob Schaffer, refuses to support this comprehensive, bipartisan plan. Why? Because it takes the tax giveaways we currently hand out to oil companies – while they make more profits than any company in the history of the world – and invests those in new energy technologies. Bob Schaffer has made his priorities clear – he won’t lift a finger to deal with our energy crisis if it means taking a dime away from the record-profit-making oil companies.

Meanwhile, I’m rolling out my comprehensive energy plan in Congress this week.

I’m going to crack down on the speculators who, The Washington Post reported last month, have “gained enormous sway over the oil market,” so that Coloradans can see more immediate relief from high gas prices.

I’m going to invest in the new energy economy, creating jobs right here in Colorado and moving America towards energy independence.

And I’m going to keep working to get this right for Colorado’s families. Because that’s who I stand for in Congress, and that’s who I’ll stand for in the Senate.

REP. MARK UDALL
Eldorado Springs, Colo.

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