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Heller: Where is Pelosi's plan to lower gas prices?

By SAM BROWN - Assistant Editor
Thursday, May 8, 2008 12:47 PM PDT

ELKO - With petroleum prices surging to all-time highs and beyond, Nevada Rep. Dean Heller has called out Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

This week, the freshman Republican congressman introduced a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives calling for Pelosi, D-Calif., to explain a long-promised plan for lowering prices at the pumps.

During a rural press teleconference Wednesday, Heller referred to a “commonsense” plan to reduce gas prices the Speaker announced two years ago - a plan he and many Republicans say she has yet to elaborate upon.

With food prices rising in conjunction with fuel prices, the congressman said it was time for explanations.

“The question needed to be asked: ‘What's the plan?'” he said. “She says there is a plan out there ... but there is no proposal on the table.”

In the short term, Heller supports a suspension of the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax proposed by presidential hopefuls Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton, but knows more is needed.

“It a little relief, but it's not the answer” to the long-term energy problem, he said. “If the energy bill does not increase supply, it's not a true energy bill.”

Heller said expansion of domestic power sources - increased oil exploration, growing refinery capabilities as well as exploring coal and nuclear generating options - is one key. Another is stabilizing the dollar, a task he said rests in the hands of the Federal Reserve.

“The answer is in how the Fed controls the dollar,” Heller said. “(Proper) management of the dollar must be preserved. If we strengthen the dollar, we will see lower gasoline prices.”

This week, Heller also introduced a bill that would eliminate the need for multilingual election material.

Introduced in the House as the American Elections Act, the legislation would require voting materials, including ballots, to be printed in English only.

The issue, according to Heller, is not onerous.

“Frankly, it's common sense,” he said. “When you are in this county, one of the requirements of citizenship is a functioning understanding of English. You'll be better off, function better and be more successful.”

The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires state and local governments that receive requests for ballots in languages other than English to comply with the request.

In 12 years as Nevada's secretary of state, Heller said he heard “a lot of frustration” with that federal mandate.

“I had no choice,” he said. “It's federal law.”

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