Here is a letter from My rep in the House, Michele Bachmann

Right now, I am rounding up my American Energy Tour, having visited the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Colorado and spots in Alaska’s North Slope, including ANWR, over the weekend. And, I am more optimistic than ever about America’s ability to attain energy independence and cut gas prices in half.

At NREL, my colleagues and I literally walked through America’s energy future. The research going on there is top notch and cutting edge. What I was most impressed with was the work that the lab is doing with a variety of vehicles run by renewable energy including: Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, and Solar Hybrid Electric Vehicles. We also investigated the programs of Wind to Hydrogen Technologies and received an overview of the Lab’s Biomass Technologies.

In Alaska, there’s a virtual treasure trove of energy opportunities. We visited the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, Prudhoe Bay, and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. And, of course, we visited ANWR, specifically the “10-02 area,” which could relieve so much of the gas crunch we feel if only we would allow it to be accessed.

Officials in the North Slope confirmed for us that this area could provide an incredible amount of petroleum (10.4 billion barrels) with a minimal environmental footprint. ANWR in its entirety measures 19 million acres, but this one oil-rich location where we are interested in drilling is a mere 2,000 acres. To give you a better picture of what that means, the area for drilling is the size of a postage stamp on a football field. Couple that fact with the proximity of the 10-02 area to the Trans-Alaskan pipeline, and this area would provide us with the most convenient and efficient route to get more petroleum to the continental United States.

America has to dedicate itself to an All-of-the-Above strategy if we are to cut gas prices, create energy-related jobs, and ease current pressures on our economy. This fact-finding trip makes me more certain than ever that America has the ability to not only weather this energy storm, but to emerge from it a worldwide energy leader.