Two Republicans in Congress launched this Web site Tuesday.

(CNN) – As House Republicans continue to focus on energy policy, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas launched a new Web site Tuesday that highlights October 1 as the day the congressional ban on offshore oil drilling will end unless Congress takes some action to continue the ban.

The site prominently features a YouTube video clip of DeMint and Hensarling discussing energy policy and encouraging the public to contact their representatives in Congress about lifting ban on offshore oil drilling and oil shale recovery. The site also contains a clock-like widget counting down the time until October 1. Visitors to the site can copy the HTML code for the widget so that they can embed the countdown clock on their own blogs or Web sites. Visitors can also sign an online petition on the site and read a blog about energy policy.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, also recently launched a Facebook application that allows users to add a gas-pump-shaped October 1 countdown clock to their profiles on the popular social networking site.

These online developments come on the heels of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Monday on Larry King Live that she would be open to holding a vote on offshore drilling if it were part of a larger energy package. Pelosi’s change in position echoes a similar change in position by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Since August 1, House Republicans have been staging a protest against Pelosi’s refusal to hold a vote on an energy bill before Congress’ five-week recess began.

Newt Gingrich came to Capitol Hill Wednesday to support House Republicans protesting the need to vote on an energy bill.

(CNN) – MoveOn.org Political Action, a liberal advocacy group that supports many Democratic causes and Sen. Barack Obama presidential candidacy, will launch radio advertisements Friday that target six GOP members of Congress over their involvement in a week-long protest by House Republicans.

Since Congress’ five-week long recess began last Friday, some House Republicans have taken to the House floor every weekday to protest Congress’ failure to vote on an energy bill.

“The political theatrics in the House this week are brought to you by the Party that’s been sold to Big Oil,” said Noah T. Winer, in a statement released by MoveOn Thursday. “They are playing politics instead of offering solutions,” Winer, a campaign director at MoveOn also said in the statement.

The radio ads will air in the districts of Rep. Roy Blunt (Missouri’s 7th District), Rep. Mike Pence (Ohio’s Indiana’s 6th District), Rep. Mary Fallin (Oklahoma’s 5th District), Rep. John Culberson (Texas’s 7th District), Rep. Mike Conaway (Texas’s 11th District), and Rep. Jon Porter (Nevada’s 3rd District).

Newt Gingrich, former Republican Speaker of the House, met with House Republicans Wednesday, followed by a Capitol Hill press conference. The GOP protest is being support by a burgeoning movement of conservative online political activists.

Congress gets back to work this week, but there's little time left in their abbreviated election year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down summer agenda in Congress.

Lawmakers want to try to save homeowners from foreclosure, avert Medicare cuts and give the government power to spy on suspected terrorists.

Gasoline prices have emerged as a chief concern among voters. But lawmakers probably will not put aside their partisan blame-fest and compromise on an energy measure that could offer some relief, either immediately or down the road.

The Senate planned to return Monday and the House on Tuesday. Their abbreviated election-year calendar leaves little time to cut deals. Lawmakers will scatter again in August for their annual monthlong break and the two parties' presidential conventions.

With their attention turning increasingly to re-election campaigns, not to mention the White House race, members of Congress will be away from Washington much of the fall.

"There just isn't much sand left in the top of the hourglass," said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution congressional scholar. "They've done whatever heavy lifting they're capable of doing."

In the time that remains, leaders intend to act on an array of politically appealing legislation. Examples include banning lead in toys and approving an ambitious global health initiative — a $50 billion program to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and elsewhere.

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