[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 26, 2007

       The House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State 
     of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2643) 
     making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2008, and foe other purposes:

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. I rise today in strong support of the 
Conaway Amendment.
  Supply and demand for energy is out of whack and our Nation needs 
more energy. Demand for natural gas is already building up across the 
economy, and proposals pushing cleaner energy will only accelerate this 
demand.
  This amendment is a major opportunity for us to respond to today's 
energy crisis with a national solution. I feel justified in supporting 
this amendment because I am from a coastal district. My constituents 
feel the same way as I do on this issue.
  Chemical production and oil and gas exploration, processing, and 
refining are Texas's top coastal industries. My colleagues from Florida 
and California think only they have beaches, but coastal tourism is 
Texas's second largest coastal industry.
  That fact alone shows the argument that oil and gas production and 
coastal tourism are mutually exclusive is just plain wrong. They are 
acting like Chicken Little, and cannot point to one beach in Texas that 
has been ruined by oil or natural gas production.
  There will be less need for LNG facilities and LNG tankers when we 
tap our own offshore resources so we can use the safest mode of 
transportation in the world--pipelines.
  My point is not that we can drill our way to cheap oil or drill our 
way to energy independence. If we allow domestic production to die out, 
conservation and research will not save us, and we will have to pay a 
terrible economic price.
  I urge my colleagues to support oil and gas production and support 
the Conaway Amendment.

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