Wayne Allard: “I compliment the minority leader for stepping forward on the issue of meeting the energy needs of our country and the…”

“I compliment the minority leader for stepping forward on the issue of meeting the energy needs of our country and the provision he has just proposed as an amendment to this particular bill. I think it is very important that we move forward with creating more sources for energy. We have done a lot in this Congress to encourage and promote the development of renewable energy resources. In fact, as chairman and founder of the Energy Renewable Caucus, I have pushed that personally. I think it is extremely important. We have done a lot to promote this new technology, but the reality is, if we want to see pain at the pump immediately relieved, we have to do more. What we do in the particular amendment that was introduced by the minority leader, we begin to open the more traditional sources of energy that we have here in this country--sources that are supported by an infrastructure that is already in place. Although we do need more of it, there is some degree of it already there. Also, it is supported by technology we have already pretty well developed, to one extent or another, although more technological advances need to be done. Those are the traditional sources we find in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where we have more than 1.2 trillion barrels of oil, and the Outer Continental Shelf, the extent of whose value and resources is huge.”