[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H3624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      AMERICA NEEDS TO BE NET EXPORTER OF POWER, NOT NET IMPORTER

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues out West, I want to remind 
them the best way to get to a most efficient market is allow the market 
to work. If this country wants low-cost, reliable electricity, we must 
have a diverse energy portfolio. We must have coal, nuclear, hydro, 
renewables, and expand our base load generating capacity. If we want 
low-cost fuel, we need to drill for it and transport it and refine it. 
States need to be net exporters, not net importers of power generation. 
Our country needs to be a net exporter of power, not a net importer of 
power.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud the State of Illinois and Governor Ryan for 
passing and signing the Empower Illinois Act, which will incentivize 
clean coal technology and generation in southern Illinois, and I 
applaud my colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) and the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield), and support the Need Act which 
will do the same thing with a national energy policy, that we will push 
through the Committee on Energy and Commerce on the floor of the House 
later on this fall.

                          ____________________