House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) advised pro-drilling House Democrats to “put up or shut up” during a press conference Wednesday morning. “Today the Republican leaders in the House are sending a letter to 22 of our Democratic colleagues [who] say they want more energy yet they continue to vote with Speaker Pelosi to block our ‘all of the above' plan,” said Boehner, who joined his GOP colleagues for the second time during the now three-week-long energy protest.
“They can’t have it both ways. Either they are for more energy and vote that way or they are not, and we are basically calling on them to put up or shut up, make sure you are saying the same thing at home that you are saying in Washington, D.C., and reminding them that actions speak louder than words.” In the letter, House Republican leaders called on the Democrats to join them in asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring the House back into session to deal with the energy crisis and support the Republican American Energy Act. “If Speaker Pelosi refuses to reconvene the House, we ask that you put your support for increased American energy in writing,” the letter said. “Sign the discharge petitions House Republicans are circulating that will force votes on energy legislation Speaker Pelosi refuses to bring to the floor.”
The letter was sent largely to freshman Democratic members, many of whom are facing tough races in the fall. Recipients include: Reps. Jason Altmire (Pa.), Nancy Boyda (Kan.), Chris Carney (Pa.), Don Cazayoux (La.), Travis Childers (Miss.), Lincoln Davis (Tenn.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz.), Baron Hill (Ind.), Steve Kagen (Wis.), Paul Kanjorski (Pa.), Tim Mahoney (Fla.), Jim Marshall (Ga.), Jerry McNerney (Calif.), Harry Mitchell (Ariz.), Dennis Moore (Kan.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Patrick Murphy (Pa.), Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.), Zack Space (Ohio), Tim Walz (Minn.) and John Yarmuth (Ky.).
In April Boehner gave the same blunt advice to Pelosi regarding the Colombia trade deal. That bill has yet to be brought back to the House floor.
