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WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the National Press Club this morning to deliver Democrats' national Address on the State of Our Union. The new Democratic Congress is committed to working in a bipartisan fashion to make America energy independent, to express the overwhelming opposition of the American people to the President's plan to escalate the war in Iraq, and to take America in a new direction. Below are their remarks as prepared: Speaker Nancy Pelosi: It is an honor to be here with my friend Senate Majority Leader Reid for...

WASHINGTON - The House wrapped up the Democrats' "100 Hours" legislative sprint Thursday with time to spare, voting to recoup billions of dollars in lost royalties from oil and gas companies and roll back industry tax breaks. The energy bill capped a two-week drumbeat of votes on legislation that, while popular with voters last fall, awaits a sketchy fate in the Senate. The House bill, approved 264-123, sets a conservation fee on oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico, attempts to recoup royalties lost because of a government error in drilling leases in the late 1990s, and rolls back...