[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 95 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DOMESTIC ENERGY AND JOBS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 20, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4480) to 
     provide for the development of a plan to increase oil and gas 
     exploration, development, and production under oil and gas 
     leases of Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the 
     Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense in 
     response to a drawdown of petroleum reserves from the 
     Strategic Petroleum Reserve:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, there are now 34 days left in this 
legislative session. We could--and should--be focusing our attention on 
serious legislation that will create jobs and make a real difference in 
the lives of our constituents. Like a long term transportation bill. Or 
preventing a doubling of student loan interest rates. Or the 
President's American Jobs Act.
  Instead, under the pretense of lowering gas prices, we are dealing 
with this ill-considered collection of seven proposals that together 
would gut the Clean Air Act, trump responsible public lands management, 
and needlessly encumber the President's ability to safeguard our energy 
security.
  In a radical departure from over forty years of successful, science-
based clean air regulation, this legislation would for the first time 
require the EPA to consider industry costs when determining what level 
of ozone is ``safe'' for Americans to breathe--which is like a doctor 
changing a patient's diagnosis based on the cost of the treatment. 
Costs clearly matter, and they are routinely incorporated into the 
scoping of compliance plans. But they should never be allowed to 
interfere with the initial, scientific determination as to what is safe 
for Americans and what is not. This kind of error is further extended 
to the public lands provisions of this bill, which elevate energy 
production over hunting, fishing, recreation, conservation and other 
management uses while imposing arbitrary deadlines for the approval of 
onshore drilling applications regardless of safety concerns. Finally, 
the President's ability to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 
respond to disruptions in our Nation's energy supply would for the 
first time be conditioned on a poorly defined new drilling plan that is 
completely unrelated to the purpose of the SPR.
  Mr. Chair, this is not serious legislation. It is hastily thrown 
together legislative filler which everyone in this chamber understands 
is dead on arrival in the Senate. Given the magnitude of the challenges 
we face, we simply do not have this kind of time to waste.

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