[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 48-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      SOUND POLICY FOR AMERICA'S ENERGY NEEDS, NOT HOLLOW PROMISES

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, across the country, American families 
are dealing with high energy prices. Families, especially those at risk 
due to home foreclosure, illness, and job insecurity face high anxiety 
about just how high these prices will go. Oil and gas prices soared 
last year, but this Congress did nothing to address the underlying 
problem. Some suggest an increase in the gasoline tax, a 40-cent per 
gallon increase. Now that is a lot of money in southwest Louisiana.
  Washington must rein in waste and promote energy solutions to meet 
our energy needs. This Congress should promote sensible policies that 
unleash American ingenuity to come up with the next generation of 
alternative fuels. Washington also needs to work to fix our aging 
roadways and bridges. But we have a responsibility to cut wasteful 
spending instead of hiking taxes.
  Let's do something positive for the people. We can promote energy 
solutions and fund necessary repairs for our infrastructure. Increasing 
taxes is

[[Page 49]]

not a solution. Let's make the hard decisions, because that is what the 
American people put us here to do.

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