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Beauprez, a Colorado Republican, is a U.S. representative and a member of the House Small Business Committee.

Knight-Ridder/Tribune

There's been a lot of talk lately about the practice of "outsourcing" or "off-shoring" of jobs.

Whatever term you use, the definition is the same - sending American jobs to foreign countries. Some Democrats seem particularly eager to make this subject a central one for the next seven months.

At a time when Americans are paying record-high prices for gasoline at the pump, I relish the opportunity to have this debate on outsourcing.

Through their opposition to a comprehensive national energy policy, I believe a very strong case can be made that the Democrats are unwittingly themselves the biggest proponents of outsourcing.

Their refusal to work with President Bush and the Republican majority in Congress to pass a national energy plan has created and nurtured an environment that is hostile to job creation and makes our nation more reliant on foreign sources of oil.

Since 2001, the Republican-led House has passed comprehensive energy legislation three times. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to follow suit, and this nation has no energy policy as a result.

The ramifications of the Senate's failure are staggering. During that time, gasoline prices have increased to all-time highs, U.S. imports of oil have increased 10 percent, the price of oil has increased 65 percent and the cost of natural gas has increased a whopping 92 percent.

According to the Department of Commerce, the United States loses 12,389 jobs for every billion dollars spent on imported oil. That means we are "off-shoring" 1.7 million jobs for oil every year.

Not only have the Democrats in the Senate blocked all