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Democrats Vote for Vacation, Ignore Gas Price Relief

Distributed by Press Release

WASHINGTON (Map) - WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement after 17 Democrats stood with every single Republican present to stop the Democratic leadership from adjourning Congress for a five-week vacation without taking up legislation to help American families struggling under the weight of record-high gas prices:

"While American families can't afford to go on their summer vacations because of $4 gas, the Democrats controlling Congress didn't think twice about going on theirs. The rest of us will be forced to sit at home watching our nation's economy suffer because of Democrats' adamant refusal to allow a vote on commonsense, bipartisan legislation to lower the price of gas.

"Republicans have offered bill after bill -- most recently the American Energy Act -- to expand the supply of American-made energy, encourage conservation and break our dangerous and costly dependence on foreign oil. Democrats have failed to address this issue and have even gone as far as to ask OPEC nations to pump more oil for us to buy with American dollars -- all despite recent polls showing that more than two-thirds of Americans believe our nation should produce its own abundant reserves of energy.

"I think it says an awful lot that 17 members of the Democratic caucus felt guilty enough about their leadership's performance on energy this week to vote against going home for the summer. I only wish there were 215 more Democrats in this chamber that were as brutally honest as this bunch -- and as rightfully ashamed."

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