Representatives David Rivera and Corrine Brown

Members of the Florida congressional delegation clashed Wednesday as the U.S. House of Representatives started kicking over three bills that emerged last week out of the Committee on Natural Resources. All three focused on energy.

Republicans who control the House are advancing the bills -- which would expand offshore energy production -- and they insist that this will lead to relief for Americans plagued by high gas prices. The House leadership has dubbed the three collectively "the American Energy Initiative."

“Since last year, American domestic oil production has decreased by 16 percent and gas prices are at upward of $4 per gallon,” said Florida Republican Congressman David Rivera, a member of the Natural Resources Committee. “Consumers see the effects of rising fuel costs in their daily lives, and my constituents are being squeezed by these rising prices. The Obama administration does not seem to have a coherent plan to expand supplies and help ease price pressure, but House Republicans do.”

Last week in committee, Rivera helped advance the bills. One of the measures would force the Interior Department to start holding oil lease sales off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf of Mexico. Another would end the freeze of offshore drilling in the Gulf backed by the Obama administration after the Deepwater Horizon accident. The third would expand offshore drilling in other parts of the country.

“The American Energy Initiatives being presented by House Republicans aim to increase American energy production so that we can decrease our dependence on oil from an increasingly unstable Middle East,” said Rivera. “We have to expand domestic energy production, not only through additional oil drilling, but also by implementing clean, safe and renewable energy alternatives, putting America’s domestic supplies and technologies to good use. I am committed to the development of clean, renewable energy resources to reduce our reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Our economic competitiveness, our environmental health and our national security are dependent on this.

“In the short term, however, alternative fuels cannot eliminate the need for oil and natural gas,” continued Rivera. “The American Energy Initiative bills are crucial first steps to begin the job of expanding domestic energy sources. The growth of domestic energy is good for the American economy. It will mean that American families will pay less for everything from gasoline to food. These bills could create an estimated 250,000 jobs in the short-term, and more than 1.2 million jobs in the long-term -- and lead to revenue growth that will help reduce the debt and deficit.”

Democrats fired back with their own proposals -- including an amendment from Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown which would put a permanent ban on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf, off the shore of Florida.

“The amendment would not have any effect on the budget as scored by the Congressional Budget Office,” noted Brown. “However, it would have a significant impact on the economy of Florida, given that the state’s tourism industry will be protected from future oil spills, with their devastating capacity to destroy our beautiful beaches and coastal areas. Certainly, Florida’s coastline is a treasure not just for Floridians, but for all Americans and people throughout the world. For years, the Florida delegation has worked together to protect our coastline and natural resources, and as long as there are rigs in the area, the potential for devastation to Florida’s beaches persists.