[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6923]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     STOP THE PAIN AT THE GAS PUMP

  (Mr. HARRIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, with Americans feeling pain at the gas pump, 
I am so glad that the House remains focused on lowering the cost of 
energy and creating an environment for positive job growth.
  American energy production has been handcuffed by a moratorium that 
the President has placed on new oil, natural gas, and coal production 
right here in the United States. Mr. Speaker, there is simply no reason 
that a country with the largest fossil fuel reserves in the world 
should be suffering through another energy crisis, a crisis that has 
already cost America thousands of jobs, forced manufacturers to 
relocate overseas, and made a gallon of gas unaffordable.
  The folks that get hurt the most are our seniors on fixed incomes, 
small businesses, and the poor. This administration apparently thinks 
the best way to help these folks is to raise their energy taxes and 
then lend Brazil billions of dollars to drill for oil, while our 
workers and our factories stand idle.
  What we need is a dose of common sense when it comes to our domestic 
energy policy. We have to use our own oil, natural gas, and coal to 
create jobs and stop the pain at the pump.

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