A group of ten lawmakers, five Republicans and five Democrats, are pushing for a compromise solution which would try to combine elements from the positions of both parties. The group calls itself the "Gang of 10" and is seeking to break a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats which cripples the evolution of the nation's energy policy. Their proposed $84 billion New Energy Reform Act would give an unprecedented boost to oil independence, new nonpetroleum fuels and other solutions to ease the energy crisis.

Congressmen are under fire for doing basically nothing to ease the current problems with fuel prices. Their inactivity will likely trigger backlash from voters at the upcoming elections in November. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released a couple of days ago has found that about three quarters of Americans are not content with the Congress' performance and the direction in which things are going in our country.

Basically, partisanship has crippled any advancement on key issues. It is hard to say who is to blame for the stalemate, but it's quite clear that Democrats, Republicans, oil companies and the Bush administration are at fault. The Democrats actively sabotaged advancements, in order to gain an upper hand at the elections by increasing the current general discontent with the Bush administration. Most notably, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refused allow House floor votes on drilling.

Meanwhile, Republicans filibustered talks to scrap tax credits granted to oil companies, which translates into tax money the government is renouncing in order for the oil industry to fill further its very deep pockets.

The compromise proposed by the Gang of 10 essentially tries to reconcile traditional Republican and Democratic views, by allowing limited offshore drilling, but canceling the tax cuts to oil companies which have always been controversial and are hard to justify now given the outrageous oil prices.

Furthermore, offshore drilling will generate billions for the states which will allow it. Florida will not have a choice under the new bill, but other states will be able to decide whether they want offshore drilling (and the cash that comes with it). The areas which would be open to oil drilling would be an area of the Gulf of Mexico, 50 miles off Florida's coast; and Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia could decide whether to allow drilling 50 miles off their shorelines.

Sen. Barack Obama has welcomed the proposal but he expressed skepticism about offshore drilling. However, lately he eased his stance on the issue, saying that he would be flexible if needed. Sen. John McCain openly supports offshore drilling, alleging that it is essential for acquiring energy independence.

An estimated 69 percent of Americans favor offshore drilling, hoping that domestic extraction of oil will ease outrageous energy prices.