[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21631]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




WE MUST ENSURE THAT THE UNITED STATES IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE ENERGY 
                               REVOLUTION

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue to remind my 
colleagues about the energy crisis we are experiencing in our country. 
While oil is currently trading at some $69.21 per barrel today, it was 
at $147 in July of 2008, when we all remember gas prices at over $4 a 
gallon. We must address our energy problems as we continue to address 
our economic problems. By doing so, we can ensure that while our 
economy recovers, we will be competitive and secure in the energy 
sector as well.
  As such, I was pleased that my bill, H.R. 3165, the Wind Energy 
Research and Development Act of 2009, passed this body last week. I 
would like to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for 
their support on my first piece of legislation that passed this full 
body. We must continue to promote energy efficiency, to drill and mine 
efficiency as we previously drilled for oil and mined coal. We must 
also enact policies that promote clean energy jobs and the deployment 
of renewables.
  Finally, as my bill did last week, we must continue to invest in 
research and development to ensure that the United States is at the 
forefront of the energy revolution.

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