[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22438]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MORE GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF OUR LIVES

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, our path to energy independence is anything but 
that. We have become more energy dependent on foreign governments, and 
our own government continues to find new ways to control our lives 
regarding energy use. The government is in the toilet bowl control 
business. Now toilets must meet strict Federal regulations, but these 
expensive toilets must be flushed more than once to be effective.
  The government now polices our washing machines. But new regulations 
that limit water usage are so ineffective with these new gizmos that 
Consumer Reports states the government machines don't get dirty clothes 
clean unless they're washed multiple times. So much for saving energy.
  And now the government is in the light bulb police business, 
requiring expensive new bulbs to be used that are only made, 
ironically, in China. Instead of finding new ways to punish and police 
Americans for using energy, we should find new efficient sources of 
more energy.
  I doubt if our forefathers fought for independence at Valley Forge 
just to give us an all-controlling government that demands how citizens 
use washing machines, light bulbs and toilet bowls.
  And that's just the way it is.

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