Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Chairman, as a Nation, we must work together if we are ever going to get a realistic energy policy that will provide clean, reliable energy for all America, that will reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources and preserve the beauty of our land.

We need a comprehensive energy plan for a country that includes not only the conventional resources like oil and gas, but also takes advantage of the new and renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy.

At the end of the day, I don't believe we can simply afford to take any of these energy resources off the table. I, for one, am a firm believer that using all the energy tools in our energy tool box is the way that we must go forward.

In the San Joaquin Valley of California that I represent, we have shown that we can take an all-of-the-above approach. We have oil production taking place just down the road from our solar fields and our wind farms; yet, of course, we are all concerned about the rise of gas prices, but as the gentleman from Oregon said, there are multiple factors that are causing those rising gas prices.

I represent one of the newest University of California campuses in Merced, and it is blazing a trail for energy efficiency, crafting technology necessary for the next generation of solar energy production.

Conventional energy, together with renewable resources and a strategy for energy conservation--which we do quite well in California--I think will best serve our long-term energy needs. That is why I have cosponsored the
American energy opportunity act of 2014.

We must create a viable energy policy that not only acknowledges our short-term challenges, but our medium and our long-term challenges as well. We must enhance our path toward energy independence--which we have made remarkable progress in the last 4 years--from over 60 percent of importing our energy needs, now down to less than almost 40 percent.

We can do more. Expanding responsible domestic energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf, advancing alternative energy, including wind, solar, biomass, wave, geothermal, and other clean alternatives.

Developing clean coal technology, developing additional nuclear energy technology, expanding the energy of efficient products and alternative fuel vehicles, and restoring and protecting our Nation's wildlife refuges and national parks and lakes and waterways are not mutually exclusive with a good energy policy; and if we do this, we can also pay off our national debt.

Again, that is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 4956. This bill does all of those things. It could do them in different ways, though, because clean energy is a critical component of our future.

Before we debate any energy legislation, I think we must acknowledge that a green energy supply is not happening as fast as we might like it to.

However, this transition must happen in order to address the continuing impacts brought on by climate change--yes, climate change--and regardless of whether or not one acknowledges the human contributions of climate change, it is a fact.

As a matter of fact, it has been changing for millions of years.

A combination of increasing our own domestic supply of natural gas and oil as well as reducing demand will lower energy costs, create jobs, and allow us to transition to cleaner fuels.

It also has another important factor. As we know, our European allies are focusing and refocusing after the events of Ukraine and Russia, which seems to be here and there about focusing as a responsible energy supplier.

H.R. 4899 is an important measure that we are discussing. I agree with my colleague from Washington, Representative Doc Hastings, when he said that the ``best way to create jobs and help address rising prices is to develop the American energy resources we have right here at home.''

And there are beneficial provisions within this bill, such as expanding domestic energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf, expanding domestic energy production on our Federal lands, directing the administration to complete an energy strategy every 4 years, and reducing the Federal debt, which are all good, commonsense public policies.

Unfortunately, this bill is not perfect. No bill ever is. The bill prioritizes--and I am concerned about this--extractive energy policies and fails to take into account the need to diversify our energy portfolio.

I voted in favor of both the offshore and onshore provisions of this bill because I think we need to expand their utilization for domestic use.

But it is clear that this bill will not become law as it is, as my colleague from Oregon has indicated. We have previously voted on these measures before in other bills in this Congress, and the United States Senate has failed to take them up, nor will they take this bill up.

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