[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      DEMOCRATS ARE PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO AMERICA'S ENERGY CRISIS

  (Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Madam Speaker, two people are most 
responsible in this country for record-high gas prices: President Bush 
and Vice President Cheney. When the oil barons came to Washington in 
2001, the Vice President opened the doors of the White House and held 
top secret meetings with their executives to draft the administration's 
energy plan.
  Then congressional Republicans helped them pass that plan into law in 
2005, and now, here we are 3 years later, Big Oil is reaping billions 
in profits while the American consumer is left squeezed at the pump. 
And now, President Bush and Republicans in Congress have the audacity 
to blame this Democratic Congress for record-high gas prices. For 
shame.
  Since day one, we've rejected the failed policies of the past, and 
instead, as Democrats, we're providing real solutions to America's 
energy crisis. We've repealed subsidies to Big Oil, cracked down on 
price gouging, and invested in clean and renewable energy.
  We also forced President Bush to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve, and it's time now for the President to release that oil to 
consumers from the reserve.
  We're not done. As Democrats, we're going to tie our energy policy to 
economic development by making green jobs good jobs, especially for 
vulnerable communities.

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