John Block Reports from Washington

Sometimes the inaction of the U.S. Congress just makes you want to pull your hair out. Haven't we been shocked with skyrocketing energy prices? The Middle East is a power keg ready to explode. How much confidence do we have in our good buddy Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to be a reliable supplier? I thought energy security was a national priority.

It is exciting to see the emphasis on biofuels. We gotta love it. But the problem is bigger than biofuels.

We need to build some new refmeries in the U.S. We haven't built one in 30 years. Environmental restrictions and "not in my back yard" critics have put the brakes on that. Except for, in the Gulf of Mexico off the Coast of Louisiana, off-shore drilling for oil and gas is not allowed. Most of the federal lands in this country are off limits.

We pay a price. Natural gas prices have pushed up the cost of fertilizer to levels never imagined. 90% of the cost of nitrogen is natural gas. The Congress should be shocked to note that we are relying more every year on imports of natural gas. We have witnessed a 43% increase in imports of fertilizer. We need natural gas for irrigation, crop drying, food processing, to heat our hog barns.

Where is the urgency? Where is the commitment to get something done? These higher energy prices are incentive to racket up our own energy production. The market is calling for more oil, more gas. But unless our government stops standing in the way ofproduction, we're not going to achieve energy independence.

Any thoughts you have, I can be reached at jblock@ofwlaw.com. Have a great week!