[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19425]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REPUBLICANS ARE STILL JUST TALKING

  (Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, for 6 years, the Republicans had control of 
Congress and of the White House, and for 6 years, the American people 
waited for them to do something to end our dependence on foreign oil, 
but despite their constant cry of ``drill, baby, drill,'' the 
Republicans didn't act on this issue when they had control, and 2 years 
ago, the American people voted for new leadership in Congress.
  Well, yesterday, that new leadership--the Democrats in this House--
answered the call by passing a landmark energy bill that triples the 
available territory for offshore drilling. Let me repeat that. The bill 
we passed yesterday triples the amount of territory in the Outer 
Continental Shelf that is available for drilling.
  Predictably, many in the minority demonstrated by their votes that 
they're more interested in having a political issue for the coming 
election than they are in actually solving the problem. While Democrats 
have taken decisive action by passing a comprehensive energy bill that 
includes an unprecedented expansion of offshore drilling, Republicans, 
as you will hear today, are still just talking.

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