Bruce Westerman: “I thank the gentleman, my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want us to take a…”

“I thank the gentleman, my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want us to take a moment to reflect tonight, reflect where our country has been and where our country is going. I think about my grandparents who grew up in a home that didn't even have electricity, didn't have running water. Even my parents were young when they got electricity in their home. Madam Speaker, it was just 150 years ago when the main source of energy in this country was wood fuel. We have come a long way in this country. We have seen a better way of life. We have seen nicer things because of the technology and innovation that we have had in this country. Our energy policy should be the same energy policy that got us to where we are today because we have a bright future ahead. That energy policy is simply to provide the cleanest energy possible for the lowest cost possible. We shouldn't discriminate against energy sources. Energy is energy. It is carbon atoms. It is hydrogen. It is the energy that we have that we convert to things like electrical energy. Just because one energy is viewed as dirtier than another energy doesn't mean that, someday, that energy can't be clean energy. If we look at recent developments, it wasn't long ago that natural gas was an expensive form of energy. It wasn't in abundant supply. Through technology, we have been able to release vast amounts of natural gas across our country.…”