[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H3625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONTROLLING THE ENERGY CRISIS
(Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, no one doubts and no one questions that we
need a balanced, comprehensive responsible energy policy in this
Nation. By importing nearly 60 percent of our domestic oil from foreign
countries, we are leaving our Nation's security vulnerable to the whims
of these importing countries.
We must increase the supply of domestic energy and promote
conservation as a form of safe and reliable power, while at the same
time promoting a clean and healthy environment.
Along with conservation efforts, technological advancements will
allow us to meet our energy needs for decades, even centuries to come.
New technologies, like gasoline-electric hybrid cars, clean coal,
hydrogen fuel, second-generation geothermal, and other such innovations
will allow us to avoid problems like those in California, while
ensuring a clean environment as our legacy for our children.
Mr. Speaker, California's fast-paced society is not capable of
supporting itself through energy shortages and rolling blackouts.
Neither is the rest of the country. However, since Governor Gray Davis
has been showing more interest in his political consultants rather than
his constituents, the crisis in his homeland has begun spreading like a
catastrophe and has put the Nation on the brink of engulfing other
States. It is time to take action now.
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