[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12538]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICA'S ADDICTION TO OIL

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, immediately after the President 
announced his intention to turn America into a 21st century green 
economy, the special interests began lobbying to keep America addicted 
to oil.
  We were told there's no urgency to change, no threat to the planet 
from the ongoing and massive releases of carbon into the atmosphere, 
and that we should pump every drop of oil out of every foreign country 
regardless of how many wars we need to wage to satisfy our addiction.
  Just remember this: The special interests want to keep us addicted to 
oil because that is in their interests, not ours, not America's best 
interests.
  We have an Administration that recognizes and is responding to the 
global crisis, and Congress needs to support the President with 
legislation that will cure America of its addiction to oil and save the 
planet in the process.
  Time indeed is running out, and we have before us the evidence and 
the legislative proposals to remake America into a clean and energy-
independent economy. It's time to act while there's still time to have 
air to breathe.

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