"Pain at the Pump," Pera's newest TV ad now on the air

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For immediate release
Monday, December 10, 2007
Media contact: Patrick Corcoran (847) 687-7579

In 2005, Congressman Dan Lipinski signed on to legislation penned by the Bush Administration and special interests to provide big oil and other energy companies with $8 billion in tax breaks and open up the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for drilling.

Less than three years later, we're looking at record-high oil prices and U.S. consumers are paying for the failed Bush/Lipinski energy policy, said Democrat Mark Pera.

"It was wrong for President Bush and members of Congress like Dan Lipinski to allow oil companies to determine America's energy policy. As a result of their short-sightedness, hard working Americans are getting robbed at the pump every day," he said.

As an Assistant Cook County State's Attorney, Pera fought polluters and energy conglomerates who operated against the public interest.

With our newest TV ad, Mark Pera for Congress is again holding Lipinski accountable for his well-documented support for the failed policies of the Bush Administration. To view the ad, click here.

The Bush Energy Policy - or HR 6 - was created out of Vice President Dick Cheney's notorious "National Energy Policy Development Group." The group, which included former Enron President and Chairman Kenneth Lay and oil and gas industry executives and lobbyists, crafted this legislation during a series of closed-door meetings. The Bush Administration has refused to release information regarding what was discussed during those meetings.

Lipinski actually voted for the Bush Energy Policy not once, but twice.

The initial version provided for $8 billion in tax breaks to energy producers and billions more in direct federal aid while giving short shrift to initiatives calling for energy efficiency standards and spending on renewable fuels. It also allowed drilling in ANWR.

The conference version, or final version, of the Bush Energy Policy provided for $14.6 billion in tax breaks, exempted oil an gas industries from some clean water laws, streamlined permits for oil wells and power lines on public lands and helped the hydropower industry appeal environmental restrictions.

With 57 days before the Feb. 5 election - and just 36 days before the Jan. 14 start of early voting in Cook County - Mark Pera for Congress is the only campaign in Illinois 3rd Congressional District advertising on the local TV airwaves.

Our first TV campaign ad - "It's Time" - has been running regularly on cable TV since the end of October. "Pain at the Pump" will be also broadcast on cable TV channels such as A&E, CNN, Comcast SportsNet, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Headline News, HGTV, The History Channel, MSNBC, TBS, TLC, TNT and USA.

To learn more about Lipinski's support for the Bush Administration's failed energy policy, please take a minute to read the "Pain at the Pump" fact sheet, which can be found here.

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