[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18623]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2115
       MEETING THE ENERGY NEEDS OF AMERICA IN A COMPREHENSIVE WAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to call the House of 
Representatives, the Congress, the administration, this country, to 
action.
  Just this month, the price of oil hit $75 per barrel, and it seems 
that the proverbial, ``While Nero fiddles, Rome burns,'' in this case 
it is, ``While Congress fiddles, prices at the pump continue to 
escalate,'' with a tremendous consequence to the consumers across 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that we address the energy policy, the energy 
needs of this country, in a comprehensive way. And although we have 
tried that on a number of occasions, it seems to me that our efforts 
have been less than what is required and need dramatic attention.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, tonight I call for a broad approach for what we 
do to reduce the price at the pump, and clearly conservation is a 
component of that. We need as a country to make certain that we have 
policies in place that encourage conservation, that we do not waste 
energy. And in fact this week I will cosponsor legislation that 
establishes CAFE standards to try to improve the efficiency of our 
automobile fleet done in a way, Mr. Speaker, that is satisfactory, 
provides common sense and good scientific basis for the direction we 
need to go, something that is not unreasonable but is workable for the 
automobile industry and for the consumer.
  Clearly, renewable fuels is an important component. We in Kansas have 
a lot to offer when it comes to renewable fuels, particularly as we 
have moved in the direction of ethanol and biodiesel. But I call for 
greater action, particularly in the area of cellulosic renewable fuels, 
cellulosic ethanol in which we can utilize the waste product of 
agriculture to meet our country's energy needs and not compete with the 
food supply and the use of corn, for example, to feed livestock.
  Renewable fuels matter greatly to rural America, but they matter 
greatly across the country. It is about jobs in rural communities and 
about utilization of our agricultural production, and it is about the 
environment, and it is about trying to do something about the 
tremendous burden we face in importing oil.
  Mr. Speaker, I also propose that we encourage greater exploration and 
production. Too often in this country we have an attitude that says we 
cannot drill and explore in our backyard, and yet we complain about the 
price of fuel. The opportunity continues to exist in this country to 
explore and find greater oil and natural gas and utilize our reserves. 
It also is an opportunity for us to pursue other sources of energy such 
as clean coal technologies and nuclear power. Again, we take so many 
things off the table and then complain that we can't afford the price.
  Finally, I ask that we pursue once again increasing our refining 
capacity. The last refinery in this country was built in 1976. In 
Kansas in the 1980s we had 14 refineries in our State. Today we have 
three, and one of those three was closed because of flood waters. The 
consequence was a 14-15 cent increase in the price of gasoline per 
gallon.
  It is time that we develop the capacity to meet the consumers' needs. 
Mr. Speaker, just last year in 2006 we spent $218 billion in purchasing 
oil from countries abroad, countries whose political circumstances are 
volatile, countries who have joined together to make certain that they 
control the supply and increase the price, and yet it seems we do 
nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
  It is clear to me that our national security is harmed by our policy, 
or lack of policy. It is clear to me that the economic consequences of 
our failure, of our fiddling while Rome burns is dramatic.
  Mr. Speaker, again I ask the leadership of this House to pursue 
policies of a broad, comprehensive approach to reducing our dependence 
upon foreign oil and making a difference for the consumer in the United 
States, improving our economy, and increasing our national security.

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