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




                 THE ENERGY PROBLEM IS ONE WE CAN SOLVE

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, the President lifted the executive ban 
on offshore oil and natural gas exploration last week, and now 
Congress, this Democrat-led Congress, is what stands in the way of 
increased domestic supply and lower prices.
  Well, instead of taking steps toward a solution, the House Democrat 
leadership has said ``no'' to the American people: go buy a hybrid, 
take a subway to work. Well, in my Seventh District of Tennessee, that 
doesn't work, because mass transit is not there.
  Congress should open up ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf, and should 
promote the construction of oil refineries and nuclear power plants. We 
need a short-, a mid-range and long-term solution. We should provide 
tax incentives for American families to purchase more fuel-efficient 
vehicles and to promote energy innovation and efficiency.
  Republicans have offered a bill that includes all of the above, 
promoting American-made energy in the short-, mid-, and long-range 
plan.
  Let's solve this problem, Madam Speaker. It requires action now.

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