Senator Elizabeth Dole has kicked off a bus tour in the final days push for re-election to the United States Senate.  The ElizaBus tour will be visiting cities throughout North Carolina for community rallies as she discusses her positive message of stronger economy, lower taxes and smaller government.

This blog will be dedicated to bringing you information on upcoming events and coverage from each day on the road. Check back soon for ElizaBus updates, and thanks for your support!

Everyone agrees we need to fix this growing problem, but there is widespread disagreement on just how to accomplish it.   I often hear, “Drill for more oil here at home,”  “Become less dependent on foreign sources for oil” or “Find alternative sources for energy so we don’t have to rely on oil.”

All of those suggestions are accurate.

In the future, we may have sources of alternative energy that will power all our needs, burn cleanly and render gasoline obsolete.  However, we are years, if not decades, away from a solution of this magnitude.  The reality of today’s world is that we rely on oil in this country to drive to work, harvest crops, transport goods, fly planes, build roads and heat our homes.  We must take serious and responsible actions that provide families and businesses with some near-term relief.  That is why I have called on the president to immediately release one third of the supply from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which will immediately provide relief at the pump because of an increased supply of oil available for refinement and will punish the oil speculators who are betting against America.  This will not jeopardize national security because the reserve would still contain a 60 day supply.

In addition, I have called on the president to create an Oil and Gas Market Fraud Task Force, which will ensure that energy markets are free from illegal manipulation and corporate corruption. This new Task Force can help restore the confidence of Americans in our oil and gas markets and prevent further harm to our economy.

While we focus on the short-term relief, we must also work towards long-term solutions.  Given that the reasons for oil price fluctuation are more complicated than simply supply and demand, I believe our government must have an oil strategy.  We need to increase supply by investing at home and increasing or starting environmentally-sound production in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and ANWR.   I also helped introduce the Gas Price Reduction Act, which would allow states, including North Carolina, the option to open areas, at least 50 miles offshore, to energy exploration as long as it is safe, clean and not visible from the land. States would be able to receive 37.5 percent of the revenues from oil and gas found off their coasts. This bill also would lift a moratorium on oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West, where experts estimate there is three times the oil that is in Saudi Arabia.

The liberals in Congress like to argue that if we begin drilling in ANWR it will take ten years to realize the increase in supply.  If President Clinton hadn’t vetoed legislation in 1996 to open 2,000 of the 19.6 million acres in a remote area of Alaska for exploration, our current energy deficit would already be reduced by roughly one million barrels of oil per day.  How long must we wait?  The time for action is now.

In fact, since Democrats have taken back control of Congress, gas prices have risen by about $2 per gallon. Now, my opponent wants to point fingers, but she should look no further than her friends in Washington who have blocked responsible oil exploration since I was elected and long before.

However, simply having more oil is not the only long-term solution we need for this country’s economic stability.  It is vital to also lessen demand through technology and conservation.  I support further increasing fuel economy standards for all vehicles and providing point-of-sale rebates for hybrid and clean diesel vehicle purchases, which will save millions of barrels of oil per day.  I have co-sponsored numerous bills to pursue those goals, including the Clean Energy Investment Act and Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act.

There are clear differences between myself and Mrs. Hagan on the energy issue.  Like many politicians, Mrs. Hagan often “talks” about high gas prices but her energy plan does nothing to produce a single barrel of oil or bring the price of gas down a single cent.  The one aspect of her plan that seeks to lower the federal gas tax by a few cents has been panned as a gimmick by even Barack Obama.  And why is Mrs. Hagan talking about the federal gas tax when North Carolina’s state gas tax is one of the highest in the country?

I have a plan that immediately addresses high gas prices and increases energy independence over the long term.  Mrs. Hagan’s offers nothing but political gimmicks and empty platitudes.  Her plan will do nothing to alleviate pain at the pump; the only octane is in her political rhetoric.  North Carolinians deserve better.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important issue.

Elizabeth

As you all know, my dear husband is not only the former Senator and Republican Leader from the state of Kansas, but also a cancer survivor and WWII hero. To say that I am proud of my husband’s many accomplishments and service to his country would be an incredible understatement.

Since Bob’s service in the Senate he’s worked with President Clinton on funding for scholarships for the families of 9/11 victims and raised money for historically black Bennett College in Greensboro. He’s teamed with George McGovern to feed the hungry throughout the world, spearheaded the effort to raise money for the WWII Memorial on the Mall in Washington and served with Donna Shalala on the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. He has truly touched the lives of the many thousands of Veterans with whom he visits in hospitals throughout the country.

This week an article titled “Hagan hits Dole for husband’s background” said “U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan is mocking her opponent’s background, telling incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole to go back to her husband’s state.”

The article also described local campaign parties where Hagan supporters will decorate ruby red slippers in a reference to “The Wizard of Oz” and Bob’s home state of Kansas.

But the attack against Bob that has troubled me the most came from her press release of April 25th. It attacked me for giving a floor speech commemorating my husband’s service. The Hagan campaign release claimed I was “interrupting consideration of the transportation bill to make a floor speech commemorating her husband’s first floor speech 39 years before.”

The Senate was in a period of “morning business” which allows Senators to speak about various issues and topics. My speech commemorating Bob’s service and the service of all veterans was on the anniversary of Bob’s injuries sustained on the battlefield during WWII. Bob spent 39 months in hospitals undergoing eight surgeries and rehabilitation, but lost the use of his right arm.

There was an important reason to commemorate Bob’s so called maiden speech, because it highlights the struggle of a group that Bob joined that fateful day, April 14, 1945, called Americans with Disabilities. The fact that he chose to talk about it is important. It was an opportunity for all of those in the U.S. Senate to think about disabilities and how they affect all Americans, not just people who undergo the kind of daily struggle that Bob faces. A day that a candidate for the Senate would want to mute a voice highlighting the struggle of these Americans is a sad one. As your Senator, I plan to take every opportunity to do what Bob did, which is to make certain that voice is heard.

An early encounter with my late mother best describes my husband and his experience. One morning he left his bedroom and went down to the kitchen in Salisbury where my mother was fixing breakfast. He had a towel draped over his shoulder.

“Mrs. Hanford,” he said, “I think you should see my problem.”Bob, that’s not a problem, it’s a badge of honor,” mother replied.

I believe the voters of North Carolina will be better served if my opponent spent her time and resources on the challenges we face as a state and nation – rather than launching personal attacks at a man who has served this nation so honorably.

Elizabeth

North Carolina has had one of the fastest-growing populations of illegal aliens in America. They’ve come here for two primary reasons. First, North Carolina has historically had a growing economy, so there were jobs. Second, the liberal politicians in Raleigh were very slow to address our lax laws regarding identification, so it was very easy to get a driver’s license in North Carolina and having identification – even if received through forgery or falsification – is very important to an illegal alien.

According to 2006 estimates from the non-partisan Federation for American Immigration Reform, about 400,000 illegal aliens live in North Carolina. FAIR estimates that the cost to North Carolina taxpayers for emergency health care, education and incarceration was $997 million in 2006 alone!

Granting amnesty to illegal aliens will provide them access to many more federal and state programs – greatly increasing their cost to taxpayers. Granting amnesty without securing our borders is an invitation for millions more to come to America – illegally. This is what happened in 1986 when we had an estimated 3 million illegal aliens, and now we have an estimated 12 to 20 million.

I have never hesitated nor beat around the bush regarding my position on illegal immigration. My position has been clear and unwavering:

• I have promoted and helped pass stronger border security measures. We must stop the massive influx of people coming into America illegally. We must gain control of our borders. No comprehensive immigration program has any chance of success if our borders are like Swiss cheese.

• I have opposed giving illegal aliens additional government benefits – including precious Social Security and Medicare benefits from a system that is already under financial stress.

• I have supported making English the official language of the United States.

• I support overturning Bill Clinton’s executive order, which requires government run agencies to have materials printed in various languages. If you are here legally and want to become a citizen, you must learn English.

• I have supported increased security measures at our nation’s ports and airports.

• I have passed a law that restricts visas to countries that will not take back their citizens who have been removed from the U.S. by court order.

• I have supported efforts for a properly functioning and verifiable temporary worker program.

• I have opposed amnesty for illegal aliens. I will continue to do so. I opposed and helped defeat three different attempts to provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. I opposed President Bush and some members of my own party in doing so.

Last summer, Washington tried to fool us again with promises to secure our borders and enforce our laws IF we legalized the millions of illegal aliens who are in America today. Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This experiment was attempted in 1986, and as I mentioned, the illegal alien population has at least quadrupled since then.

Once the comprehensive bill was defeated, I was troubled that the immigration issue was quickly swept off Washington’s priority list. So at every possible opportunity, I have worked to provide additional funding and resources for border security and internal law enforcement. I have even heard from colleagues who supported the comprehensive bill that in hindsight their judgment was wrong and now they are working intently on enforcement measures.

Most importantly, I traveled throughout North Carolina to talk with local law enforcement officials about the challenges and pressing issues that they faced. I took their concerns directly back to federal officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and asked them to put North Carolina in a unique position for a pilot program to address criminal illegal aliens.

The result has been a partnership over the last year where ICE and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association have worked hand in hand to form a statewide plan to identify, apprehend and deport criminal aliens.

A handful of North Carolina counties were already using a program called 287(g), which allows local law enforcement officials to receive training and software necessary to determine if those arrested and entering their jails are U.S. citizens, and even if there is a current warrant out for their arrest in North Carolina or another state.

As part of the statewide plan, we are currently adding 287(g) programs, with Henderson County in the mountains and Cumberland and Wake Counties currently undergoing training. And it’s important to note that these programs have been fully paid for by the federal government.

But most importantly, the statewide plan involves many more tools and resources than just the 287(g) program. Many areas don’t have the detention space necessary to incorporate the program, nor is it financially prudent for the federal government to bring all North Carolina counties into the program.

In working with ICE officials, we’ve been able to identify other tools that North Carolina sheriffs can voluntarily use at no cost. Again, the goal is simply for local law enforcement officers to be able to identify who has been arrested for a crime and then for federal officials to remove these criminals from the country.

Some in the media have misrepresented my plan (accidentally of course), which has been in large part due to the misstatements of my opponent Mrs. Hagan. Simply put, Mrs. Hagan does not understand the immigration enforcement plan that I have worked on with federal officials and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association since last year. The plan is statewide and comprehensive and is well on its way to completion.

North Carolina has become a model for the country in how we are enforcing our laws here in a state that has had a growing illegal immigration crisis. I’m proud to have helped lead the way on this effort.

My opponent, Mrs. Hagan, has been totally uninvolved on the immigration enforcement issue and now in a desperate political move, she held one meeting last week with a handful of sheriffs to try to learn something about what we’ve been working on for a year. She still has a complete lack of understanding of this issue and is woefully unprepared to discuss it in a thoughtful way.

First, Mrs. Hagan thinks the 287(g) program equates to the ICE/Sheriffs’ Association/Dole Plan.

That’s false. 287(g) is just one aspect of a statewide and comprehensive plan, which is the first and only one of its kind in the nation.

We’re pleased to have the most 287(g) programs in the country with a total of 7 counties participating, in addition to the Durham Police Department.

But let’s look at Mrs. Hagan’s inaccurate criticisms of just the 287(g) program.

Mrs. Hagan has called the 287(g) program an “unfunded mandate.” False…It’s entirely a voluntary program and is funded by the federal government.

Apparently Mrs. Hagan is referring to $750,000 in state funding that was requested by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. Mrs. Hagan initially criticized the necessity of the funding, before taking credit for it a day later.

Mrs. Hagan has called my statewide approach a “patchwork” plan because it’s enforcement “county by county.”

False again…This is the key point that Mrs. Hagan fails to understand as she attempts to play catch up on this issue. The plan that is being implemented currently by federal officials and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association is statewide and comprehensive. Every county in North Carolina that chooses to participate will have the tools necessary to work in coordination with federal officials to identify, apprehend, and deport criminal illegal aliens. Over the last year we have audited the state’s 100 counties and have identified areas where 287(g) is both necessary and possible. Those counties will fall under the 287(g) program, but the vast majority of counties will be eligible for many other resources. Again, all counties that choose to participate will be covered under the plan.

The partnership between the federal government and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association is working. North Carolina has asked for and received additional funding, resources and manpower from ICE that I am proud to have helped deliver.

A few years ago, North Carolina was deporting around 26 illegal criminal aliens a month, and now that number is well over 500 per month. Our statewide solution to address this issue is clearly working, and we will continue to lead the nation in this endeavor. Mrs. Hagan would rather rely on empty platitudes and play political games by asking Washington to fix the immigration problem. While Mrs. Hagan waits for Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to cure the nation’s illegal immigration woes, North Carolina will be leading the way for the nation by implementing our enforcement plan.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Elizabeth