U.S. must invest in alternative energy to secure our future

Like House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [“Democrats blocking road to cheaper fuel,” Commentary, April 20], I am concerned that at the start of another summer driving season, families in Illinois are once again feeling the pinch at the gas pump, and that we are facing an energy crisis that is truly a matter of national security. But relief at the gas pump for the American people cannot be found at the bottom of an oil well in the Alaska wilderness to be built years from today or in the text of an energy bill full of billions of dollars in taxpayer giveaways to oil and gas giants.

Unfortunately, that is the only energy plan that the Republican leaders in Congress have chosen to bring to the floor, year after year.