[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1130
           THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE THAN TALK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last month we heard some 
productive talk from the President during his State of the Union 
Address. His acknowledgement that we need increased domestic production 
of oil and natural gas was quite promising. Or, maybe his commitment 
``to fight obstruction with action.'' Those types of words are always 
welcome in this Chamber. Unfortunately, the President's action, or lack 
thereof, continues to fall short of the rhetoric.
  Mr. Speaker, there continues to be a great divide between the words 
in the speech the President delivers and his actual actions or 
leadership. Despite a pledged commitment to energy security, this 
administration has worked to counter attempts at making America's 
energy future more secure.
  The President's denial of the Keystone XL pipeline, which has the 
potential to create thousands of jobs and add to our energy security, 
is just the latest example. Between the energy resources that would be 
provided by a constructed, completed Keystone pipeline and the domestic 
natural gas fields in the United States that are in production right 
now, we could shut off the valve of dependency on Middle East oil.
  In the House, we've advanced dozens of bills to expand domestic 
resource production and encourage new job creation, almost all of which 
have been denied consideration by the Senate.
  With any hope, the President will meet his commitment to fight 
obstruction with action by calling on the Senate to work with the House 
on these important initiatives. With almost 2 million more Americans 
out of work since taking office, the American people are looking for 
more than just talk.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are looking for things that they've 
not seen in Washington: leadership by the President and action by the 
Senate.

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