U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, is surfing the energy wave.

Maintaining his stance concerning the rising fuel prices, the freshman congressman is hosting an energy meeting tonight at the Mandeville City Hall on 3101 E. Causeway Blvd. that will address energy issues and concerns.

Everyone is invited to attend the meeting at 7 p.m. where a panel of energy experts, including representatives from Minerals Management Service, the Governor’s Office of Coastal Affairs and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, will be on hand to answer questions. “People in Louisiana and across the country are still struggling to make ends meet because of high gas prices,” Scalise stated in a press release. “I look forward to discussing solutions to our nation’s energy crisis, including exploration, conservation and alternative sources of energy.”

To combat the soaring fuel hikes, Scalise’s first piece of legislation, the Grow American Supply Act recently introduced to Congress, would lift the drilling moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf to allow companies to tap into some of the immeasurable reserves of oil said to be hidden beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

His GAS act would also increase the exploration of alternative energy sources like oil shale and tar sands. Among several other things, Scalise said, the bill would ultimately boost the revenue Louisiana currently receives from offshore drilling.

Scalise is also an original co-sponsor of the American Energy Act, which is an “all of the above” approach to the energy crisis.

Like the GAS act, the AEA would increase the supply of American-made energy by opening deep-water drilling opportunities that “will provide an additional three million barrels of oil per day, as well as 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas,” Scalise said.

It would also open the avenue of exploration into shale oil resources and the Arctic coastal plain where scientists believe a considerable quantity of oil lies.

Scalise will likely discuss the bills and answer questions.

Mayor Eddie Price said he plans to attend and encourages any residents interested in making their homes more energy efficient to also attend the meeting.

This meeting is number 12 in a series of town hall meetings the congressman has held across his district to become better acquainted with his constituents’ concerns, but a spokesperson in Scalise’s office said this is the first meeting he’s holding with a central theme.