Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act

COMPREHENSIVE AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 16, 2008)

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Mrs. CAPITO. I thank the gentleman for recognizing me.

The Speaker, we just listened to her, and her leadership team had an opportunity to present this House with a truly bipartisan energy bill. Both she and the majority leader have talked about the compromises that they reached and how they worked on a compromise. I don't know who they're compromising with. They're compromising with themselves, negotiating with themselves.

Instead, they chose to bring forth what I think is a blatantly partisan bill. It will increase energy costs in my State, and again, essentially ignores West Virginia, its people, its abundant supply of coal.

I go back to the fact that I've listened to both the majority leader and the Speaker in their remarks, and not one mention of clean coal in both of their remarks.

So let me be clear, in a time when West Virginians are making hard decisions based on their gas, electric and home heating needs, this bill offers them nothing more but Washington. All talk and no action.

We know it's going to take a comprehensive plan to wean our Nation off of $700 billion worth of dependence on foreign sources of oil, but this bill just doesn't do the job.

It includes a renewable portfolio standard that will send electric costs skyrocketing in a State like West Virginia by mandating difficult standards, all of this at a time when many of my constituents can barely afford gas or their heating bill.

This bill doesn't invest in royalties for offshore exploration into alternative energy sources like clean coal or renewable fuels. Coal-to-liquid has great promise to lead this Nation towards our energy independence.

The American people gave the leadership of Congress a homework assignment to solve our energy crisis, and they responded by waiting till the last minute, hastily writing their bill, and delivering it late. Sadly, it fully deserves the ``F'' that the American people will be giving it.

At a time when a solution demands real bipartisanship, this bill just doesn't cut the muster. I'm on the bipartisan bill. We worked night after night with no lobbyists, no leadership, no special interests, and we found good compromise in that bipartisan bill, and I'm proud of the efforts on both sides of the aisle where we joined together.

With this empty shell of an energy bill, I'm afraid I'm disappointed and I'm afraid the American people will be, too.

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