OMAHA — Democrat Jim Esch said Friday that while incumbent Lee Terry isn’t solely to blame for the nation’s energy problems, the Republican hasn’t done enough during his more than nine years in Congress to help solve them.

Terry responded by listing several energy-related bills he helped draft, including legislation to increase fuel economy standards.

“I’ve got a history and reputation of being the guy that you can work with on our side of the aisle,” Terry said.

Terry, 46, and Esch, 32, are vying for the House seat that represents Omaha and the surrounding area. They met Friday at the studios of Omaha radio station KFAB for their first debate in this year’s race. Esch lost to Terry in the 2006 race.

Esch read aloud part of a commentary Terry wrote in 2000, saying the United States needs a “consistent, decisive national energy policy.”

Esch pointed out that Terry is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“Whose fault is it that nothing’s been done there?” Esch asked. “We had so much time to work on it, and we didn’t do it.”

Esch said that now that it’s popular to be nonpartisan, Terry is saying he is.

Terry’s comments on fuel economy legislation he helped craft sparked the most heated dustup of the debate. Esch said Terry that and other legislation are not bills.

“These are resolutions,” Esch said.

“No, it’s not,” Terry protested, and Esch repeated: “It wasn’t a bill.”

“Yes, it was, Terry responded. “I’m sorry you don’t understand the process.”

The original bill was rolled into a larger energy bill enacted last year.

Terry said Esch “can’t accept that I had a legislative victory on a major issue.”

“My history of working across the aisle is unquestionable,” Terry said.

Terry acknowledged that more should have been done on energy.

Now, he said, “we have the will of the people to go out and take the major steps” because people are so frustrated about gas prices.

Terry said Congress should pass a bill to stimulate the housing market, such as a tax credit for first-time home buyers. He said the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 — “that are heavily criticized by my opponent” — should be made permanent.

Esch said the tax cuts came at the wrong time, in the middle of the Iraq war, but “I don’t think you just throw them out, but I do want to make sure we can pay for them.” The national debt has doubled since Terry’s been in office, Esch said.

KFAB host Scott Vorhees asked before the debate how many homes each candidate owned, poking fun at a Thursday report that John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, didn’t know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own.

The tally: one house for Terry, none for Esch.