[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ALLOWING ELECTION-YEAR POLITICS TO DICTATE POLICY IS NO WAY TO GOVERN

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, since this administration took office, the 
price of gasoline has more than doubled. In January of 2009, the 
national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $1.79. Today, that 
same gallon of gasoline will set you back $3.84. Yet this 
administration continues to let election-year politics dictate policy.
  Since 2010, I have led the charge at fighting President Obama's 
assault on offshore drilling. The moratorium, a knee-jerk reaction by 
Washington liberals, harmed many local oil and gas producers on the 
Gulf Coast. According to a recent study conducted by the Louisiana 
State University, the moratorium resulted in the loss of 8,000 Gulf 
State jobs and $487 million in lost wages. And to make matters worse, 
the administration continues to push higher taxes on American 
independent energy producers, leading to higher costs and higher 
unemployment rates.
  The past 3 years were marred with poor decisions relating to domestic 
energy production, with consequences falling directly on south 
Louisiana families. Now is the time to promote sensible energy policies 
that put Americans back to work while fully utilizing the resources we 
have right here at home.

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