A little more than two short years ago we heard presidential candidates vowing to fight to prevent rapid spikes in gas prices at the pump. Well, here we are again not too far in the future and $4.00 per gallon gas could be right around the corner. Like you, I’m hardly surprised.

The unrest in the Middle East should really clarify for President Obama that we can no longer remain dependent on foreign oil, especially from countries run by bad actors like Muammar Gaddafi. Unfortunately, the administration seems stubbornly resolved to halt American domestic energy production in its tracks to appease their radical environmentalist agenda.

I’m introducing new legislation in the near future that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil – from countries like Libya – by finally unshackling our own domestic energy sector from excessive regulation, while also directing a portion of those revenues to continued funding for alternative and renewable resources. Renewables and alternative fuels may be the future, but only our current administration has fooled itself into thinking these potential alternative fuels are right around the corner. We need our traditional energy resources as a bridge to help free us from dependence on foreign sources and sudden price fluctuations caused by uncontrollable world events.

Arguably most the important benefit of my bill to harness our energy sector’s potential: It would put many more Americans back to work than any of the other ‘job creation’ plans we’ve seen before Congress, while also reducing our federal and trade deficits.

In a recent meeting with BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich about the de facto moratorium, he basically just repeated the administration’s talking point – there is no de facto drilling moratorium in the Gulf. And just recently, the Interior Department made great fanfare out of issuing one new drilling permit…one.

Until the administration responds to my repeated requests to start issuing at least 15 new exploratory permits, I’ll continue to block two of Obama’s key nominations for administration positions: Scott Doney, Obama’s nominee to be NOAA chief scientist and Dan Ashe, President Obama’s nominee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Department of the Interior.

The Interior Department’s de facto moratorium has destroyed jobs in Louisiana, contributed to the bankruptcy of at least one major employer and could force everyone to have to pay for $4.00 per gallon gasoline.

None of us want to see $4.00 a gallon gas again, and a simple solution starts in Louisiana, just off our coast.