Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the gentlewoman pointing out the language on page 3 of the bill. I will point that out too because it says, ``The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for geothermal exploration and production activities conducted on a non-Federal surface estate. . . .'' I think most people would agree that we don't want the Federal Government telling States and private landowners that they have to obtain a Federal permit to extract energy off of their land. That is exactly why we are proposing this bill, and it is not coming from the standpoint that the government knows best, that somebody sitting here in D.C. in a nondescript cubicle should be telling somebody thousands of miles away how to develop their land. No. We shouldn't require Federal permitting on State and private land, which is what we are talking about. That is what this bill would do. It is only in the case where when you get below the surface, if more than 50 percent of the geothermal energy is coming off of Federal land, then you still have to go through the Federal permitting. If it is less than 50 percent, then the State permitting would rule. It is a commonsense bill. It would promote economic development. It would promote renewable energy development. It is a bill that needs to be passed. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Duarte), who also worked closely on this bill.”