[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 STIMULATE THE ECONOMY--DRILL OFFSHORE

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, some day in the future we may live in 
a land flowing with renewable green energy, windmills on every corner, 
cute little battery-operated cars in every garage. But the path to 
blissful nirvana is long and we have just begun that journey.
  Right now, our primary fuel source for vehicles is crude oil, whether 
we like it or not. We get most of it from the Middle East. We transfer 
billions of dollars of taxpayer money to countries that don't like us 
or respect us, countries that have ties to radical terrorists that want 
to kill us.
  The American people support clean offshore drilling. It is good for 
the country. We will keep our money in America instead of sending it 
overseas. Offshore drilling creates high-paying jobs for Americans. We 
reduce the risk of oil spills from tankers from the Middle East. Oil 
companies will send millions of dollars to our Treasury for the right 
to lease offshore, and it can be done cleanly and safely.
  But the new administration has blocked offshore drilling. With all 
the rhetoric about stimulating the economy, one would think that a real 
stimulus would be to drill off our shores and bring jobs and money to 
Americans instead of going into debt with the elusive stimulus package.
  And that's just the way it is.

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