Hensarling thanks recent recruits; talks about energy

May 30, 2008 05:38 pm

— By Kelly Young
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
“I joined because I wanted to make a difference and to serve my country.”
That was the answer given by new recruit Bridgette Smalley when U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling asked her why she had chosen to enlist in the Army. Smalley was one of a handful of recruits on-hand when Hensarling visited the Jacksonville U.S. Army Recruiting Station on Wednesday morning.
Hensarling congratulated the recruits on their decision, and thanked them for choosing to protect our country.
“I’m sure you’ve heard it a lot, but freedom is not free. I treasure freedom a lot, and I think I treasure it even more since I got into the daddy business. I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, and I think a lot about the kind of America that they are going to grow up in,” Hensarling said. “I want to thank you all for what you are going to do for the nation, and I want to thank you all for what you are going to do to make sure that my children grow up in a safer, freer and more secure America.”
The congressman’s visit to Jacksonville comes only days after Memorial Day, and Hensarling quoted President Calvin Coolidge regarding the importance of honoring our soldiers.
“Known as Silent Cal, President Coolidge never said much — but when he did speak you paid attention to it. He once said that a nation that forgets its defenders will soon itself be forgotten. We can never forget those who came before us as defenders of our nation,” he said.
Hensarling said he has worked as a member of Congress to ensure the U.S. Military has the funding it needs to operate at its best, and to help the veterans community.
“Throughout the history of our nation, when one generation has passed the torch of liberty to the next generation, somebody has always been there to meet that call. Today you are answering that call,” Hensarling said. “I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of your service and of your sacrifice to our country.”
Recruit Smalley said she will be shipping out soon for basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Immediately following the representative’s meeting with the recruits, he traveled to Rusk City Hall where he discussed the nation’s energy policy and the effect the high cost of fuel is having on East Texas families and businesses.
“Our energy problems were not created overnight, and they will not be solved overnight. That is why it is critical that we start taking steps now to begin to address this problem. To solve our energy problems, it will take a balanced approach of dealing with both the supply of energy as well as the demand for energy,” he said “Washington has tried everything but increasing production. If we want prices to come down, we have to increase the supply of American energy. I want to see more signs that read, ‘Made in the U.S.A.’”
Hensarling said he is working to expand America’s energy production in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He supports expanding oil production in Alaska and on the Outer Continental Shelf and expanding the nation’s domestic refining capacity.
While he believes finding alternative and renewable energy sources is an important part of the solution to America’s fuel crisis, Hensarling said none of those emerging technologies are commercially viable or effective enough yet to completely displace our reliance on fossil fuels.
“When I first started driving in the 1970s, the Arab oil embargo was stranding American drivers on the side of the road and creating lines at our nation’s service stations,” Hensarling said. “We can bring back the bell bottoms, disco balls or eight track tapes, but I will fight to ensure Washington does not bring back the same ineffective energy policies of price controls and higher taxes.

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