[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18164]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     A START TO LOWERING GAS PRICES

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Last week a powerful hurricane hit southern Louisiana.
  First I want to thank all the volunteers and workers who are helping 
in this recovery effort.
  Hurricane Gustav, as Hurricane Ike threatens to do, highlights the 
importance of American energy production in the Gulf of Mexico. 
Dangerously, America remains just one major storm or one geopolitical 
act from another major hike in the price at the pump.
  Gas prices affect our food prices, the economy in general, and 
people's pocketbooks directly.
  Throughout August I joined my fellow House Republicans in urging 
Speaker Pelosi to bring Congress back to session to help American 
families struggling with dramatically high gas prices. She refused. But 
now we can act.
  We can increase our own energy supply, become less dependent on 
foreign sources of oil, create good, high-paying American jobs. We can 
do this. Many of these energy jobs are going overseas, but we can keep 
them right here in America. By harnessing all of America's vast 
resources, we can help Americans in the short term and into the future.
  Let's do the responsible thing. Let's open up parts of our deepwater 
coasts for energy exploration, and let's begin to reduce the price at 
the pump. We can take control of our energy future, which is our 
economic future. We can lower families' anxiety, but Congress must act 
to increase American energy production across the board now.

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