Late Monday night, under the guise of darkness, Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic allies introduced another energy bill that fails to produce any new American energy. The following morning, Speaker Pelosi forced a vote on this massive, bloated legislation.
The Pelosi bill adds more restrictions to exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska’s North Slope and the Inter-Mountain West; contains no nuclear energy or clean coal-to-liquids technology; offers no lawsuit reform; prevents the building of new refineries and includes $19 billion in energy tax hikes on American consumers, manufacturers and small businesses. In short, this is an energyless energy bill that puts politics above principle. Instead of working on a real energy plan, this Congress would rather pass a bill that maximizes political gains for a political party. We need to put aside partisan posturing and open the House Chamber to a real debate and allow real votes on America’s energy future.
Prior to final passage of the Democrats’ "no energy" bill, the Majority rejected a Republican proposal to pass the bipartisan National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act (H.R. 6709), a bill authored by Reps. John Peterson (R-PA) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) and co-sponsored by 39 Democrats and over 90 Republicans. While not perfect, this bill is the closest to a truly bi-partisan compromise the House has come all year, yet House Democrats rejected the bill as only 13 Democrats supported this legislation.
Speaker Pelosi has one week left to pass a new energy bill that takes an ‘all of the above’ approach: more drilling, more alternatives, more conservation. The majority of members in Congress are willing to work together to make such a bill a reality, but time is running out. Speaker Pelosi has scheduled the House to adjourn on September 26. I will continue pushing for the energy bill we need over the next few days.
The Pelosi bill adds more restrictions to exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska’s North Slope and the Inter-Mountain West; contains no nuclear energy or clean coal-to-liquids technology; offers no lawsuit reform; prevents the building of new refineries and includes $19 billion in energy tax hikes on American consumers, manufacturers and small businesses. In short, this is an energyless energy bill that puts politics above principle. Instead of working on a real energy plan, this Congress would rather pass a bill that maximizes political gains for a political party. We need to put aside partisan posturing and open the House Chamber to a real debate and allow real votes on America’s energy future.
Prior to final passage of the Democrats’ "no energy" bill, the Majority rejected a Republican proposal to pass the bipartisan National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act (H.R. 6709), a bill authored by Reps. John Peterson (R-PA) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) and co-sponsored by 39 Democrats and over 90 Republicans. While not perfect, this bill is the closest to a truly bi-partisan compromise the House has come all year, yet House Democrats rejected the bill as only 13 Democrats supported this legislation.
Speaker Pelosi has one week left to pass a new energy bill that takes an ‘all of the above’ approach: more drilling, more alternatives, more conservation. The majority of members in Congress are willing to work together to make such a bill a reality, but time is running out. Speaker Pelosi has scheduled the House to adjourn on September 26. I will continue pushing for the energy bill we need over the next few days.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment