[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18161-18162]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               WE NEED AN ENERGY VOTE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the dismal approval 
ratings the American people have given Congress. And who can blame 
them? My goodness, they have really grown so ill and fatigued of all 
the excuses they hear from our leaders. And that is why over the past 5 
weeks, 137 Republicans have spoken here on the House floor in favor of 
American energy and in favor of solving this problem for the American 
people.
  Although Congress was in recess and the lights were turned out and 
the microphones were off and the TV cameras were quiet, we brought our 
constituents onto this floor to demonstrate that we are willing and 
ready to go to work. And still, there is no vote, no vote scheduled on 
legislation to increase American energy development and to decrease our 
reliance on foreign oil.
  Should Congress promote increased production of American energy? 
Should we promote conservation and efficiency? Should we encourage the 
use of alternative and renewable fuels? The

[[Page 18162]]

answer to all of the above is yes. That is why we need an ``all of the 
above'' energy strategy. We need a vote, Mr. Speaker. We need a vote on 
the House floor.

                          ____________________