Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy is confident the U.S. economy will recover from its recession, but things might get worse before they get better as she predicted oil consumers, this winter, may be paying double what they paid last winter.

At her district office in Garden City, McCarthy spoke about the economy, the high gas prices, the banking crisis and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as the issues mostly highly visible to the American public.

McCarthy, first elected to Congress in 1996, will be running for re-election in the 4th Congressional District this November. She is being challenged by Mineola Mayor Jack M. Martins, who has been critical of McCarthy for not being visible in the district, not taking a stance against the proposed Long Island Rail Road third track and not being committed to an energy policy that would reduce the high prices of gas and oil.

Between the high gas and oil prices, escalating food prices and the concerns over delinquencies on subprime mortgages and foreclosures, residents certainly have a lot of concerns.

"Between banking, gas prices and food prices, it's all like a perfect storm has come together," said McCarthy.

The Congresswoman favors bailing out Fannie Mae (The Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (The Federal Home Mortgage Corporation). "If we don't back up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we could go into a real tailspin," McCarthy said. "They just don't want to give out mortgages right now. They are extremely hard to get."

Last week, Congress passed a measure calling for improved credit counseling practices as part of the American Housing and Foreclosures Prevention Act. The bill (H.R. 3221) also provides the Department of the Treasury with emergency and temporary financing authority for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "It's not just your mortgage, it's your taxes; it's your mortgage insurance; it's your utilities. All those things have to be added up on whether you can actually carry a home. A lot of loans were made to people that probably couldn't have afforded to buy a house in the first place," said McCarthy.

For those who are remaining in their homes and have oil heat, they must brace for what could be an expensive winter. "For our constituents here on Long Island, this is going to be a horrible winter. Let's hope it's a very mild winter," said McCarthy, who estimates that residents with oil heat will pay oil bills double the size of last winter if not more.

Martins has been critical of McCarthy for not committing to an energy policy that would address high oil prices. Martins supports expanding domestic oil exploration and lifting restrictions such as moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

But McCarthy said that drilling would not provide immediate relief. "It would take anywhere from seven to ten years to be able to go from the drilling to actually get production out there," she said.

However, McCarthy said everything should be on the table when it comes to solutions for the energy crisis, including offshore drilling. "I do believe that we should be looking at the millions of acres of land that have not been explored yet. But I also think we need to look at everything else and I'm talking about even nuclear power. We don't use enough nuclear as far as I'm concerned," she said, though added that Long Island would not be an appropriate place for a nuclear power plant.

Martins, however, points out that in the two years the Democrats held the majority in Congress, gas prices have almost doubled while Congress has failed to enact an effective energy policy.

As people continue to pay at the pump and the value of the American dollar diminishes, the economic outlook for the country does not look optimistic. However, McCarthy believes in the recovery of the economic health of the country.

"I do believe we can get through this crisis," said McCarthy. "We're going to have a tough time in the future, but I do believe we will come out of it. I think we will be a better nation for it."