National Security Ill Served by Energy Bill

National Security Ill Served by Energy Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - With the United States at war in the Middle East, Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (CO-01) voted against the Energy Bill, warning that it did far too little to reduce America's dangerous dependence on foreign oil. She released the following statement:

While this Energy Bill is an improvement on the original version the House considered, we should not vote for something simply because it's gone from awful to just bad. With terrorism thriving and instability growing in the Middle East, it is critical to our national security that we become more energy independent. Yet, this bill fails to reduce our reliance on foreign oil or sufficiently fund the renewable energy we will need for our future. It does not encourage energy conservation or increase fuel efficiency. Instead, it provides millions of dollars in subsidies for oil and gas companies to continue with the same bad policies that got us into this mess. It is not in the best interest of this nation to vote for an energy plan that looks backward when we desperately need to move forward.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/co01_degette/050728.html