[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   OPPOSING THE COMPREHENSIVE AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY AND CONSUMER 
                             PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 23, 2008

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to 
the sham legislation Speaker Pelosi unfurls for us this week. For 
months, energy and gas costs have impacted every aspect of Americans' 
lives--prices at the pump, the cost of a gallon of milk, school board 
budgets, etc.--and today, the Speaker believes that we have cause to 
celebrate, because at long last, she has unveiled from the deep 
recesses of her chambers a bill with the word ``energy'' in the title.
  But when the champagne toast is over and the streamers come down, all 
America gets in this so-called ``energy'' bill, is hot air and higher 
taxes. The bill is merely a reflection of the status-quo, and a fraud 
on the American consumer paying $4 a gallon gas.
  The reality is:
  This bill blocks production and 35 years worth of American oil in 88 
percent of the outercontinental shelf!
  Impedes production in ANWR, with a projected 10 billion barrels of 
oil, and permanently locks up a trillion barrels of western oil shale.
  New refineries to be built on American soil with this bill? Not a 
chance.
  Fifty percent of our power is from coal, yet there is zero 
encouragement of coal-to-liquids development or clean coal generation.
  Even emissions-free nuclear energy gets a backseat in this bill.
  Don't look for pro-production measures to reduce prices at the pump, 
you won't find them here.
  What this bill does do is raises taxes and increases electricity 
costs for families, seniors and small businesses already feeling their 
wallets being pinched by high gas prices and rising home heating costs.
  Simply put, today we do nothing to provide relief at the pump to the 
citizens of Kentucky and elsewhere. Let's take off our party hats and 
call today's festivities what they really are--a thinly veiled effort 
to inoculate the Speaker in November and appease a small group of 
special interests. I urge my colleagues to reject this Election Day 
mirage and demand meaningful comprehensive energy legislation for the 
American people.

                          ____________________