Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3893, Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3893, GASOLINE FOR AMERICA'S SECURITY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - October 07, 2005)
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, we have a national energy crisis now. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not appreciate that fact, I would suggest that they go home to their districts and listen to their constituents. Instead, we are rushing a flawed bill to the floor that will once again reward the very industries that have gouged the American people.
It is unacceptable for anybody in this Congress to say we cannot do anything about the short-term crisis of high energy costs.
We must. That is what our constituents expect us to do. That is what we should be doing today here on the floor. The cost of filling a tank of gas ranges between $40 and $100. There are workers whose wages do not compensate for the cost of driving to and from work. I have senior citizens in my district and low- and moderate-income families who are scared out of their minds about how they will heat their homes this winter. We must crack down on price gouging in the short term and find other ways to lower prices. This is an emergency. It requires dramatic action by the Government of the United States.
In the long term, we should reduce our reliance on foreign oil by aggressively pursuing renewable energy sources, something that we should have been doing a long time ago.
What we have here in this so-called ``Gas Act'' is more of the same: tax breaks to reward the bad behavior of oil and gas companies; reduced regulations that compromise our communities; and nothing, absolutely nothing, for the relief of our citizens.
Let me say to my colleagues who vote for this, do not go home and tell their constituents that they did anything for them because in truth they have not. When they ask them what did they do to lower the prices of gas and home heating oil, they can say honestly they did nothing.
Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support the Stupak substitute, which will deal head-on with the issue of price gouging; and if that fails, I would urge my colleagues to defeat this bill and to go back to the committee and do something meaningful. The status quo does not work. It is time for a comprehensive, honest-to-goodness energy plan, and this is not it.
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