[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6663-H6664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL
(Mr. HALL of New York asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute.)
Mr. HALL of New York. Madam Speaker, later today, we will begin
[[Page H6664]]
work on important legislation to finally help America end its
dependence on foreign oil and pursue newer, cleaner forms of energy.
I'm excited that the Energy and Water appropriations bill that we
will pass this week will take the long overdue step of setting a new
course for our energy future by making significant investments in
renewables and efficiency.
For too many years, working families have felt the sting of high gas
prices at the gas pump and rising home energy costs. Our economy has
been made vulnerable to the whims of OPEC, and our reliance on fossil
fuels has polluted our air and exacerbated climate change.
All the while, State and local governments have been forced to try to
fill the leadership vacuum left by the Congress and this President.
No more. The new Congress is prepared to meet our Nation's energy
challenges head-on, and to do so, this bill provides almost $2 billion
for renewables and efficiency, significantly more than the President
requested.
I am concerned that it continues to provide unwarranted taxpayer
subsidies for nuclear power that hide the true consumer costs of this
power source, but I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to
ratify it.
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