Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment that changes the title of this legislation to something more fitting, that being the ``Russian Energy Reliance and United States Poverty Act.'' The consequences of this legislation becoming law would have devastating, long-term impacts on the economic and national security of the United States. Putting both the Atlantic and Pacific Outer Continental Shelves permanently off-limits to oil and gas development puts the United States at a distinct disadvantage to the rest of the world. We have already seen how policies from liberal States that are along the same lines of this legislation have caused certain parts of the country to become dependent upon Russian energy. New England, for example, was forced to import Russian natural gas in the wintertime because of the ludicrous decision by the State of New York not to allow pipelines to be built through the State. The legislation before us today would have similar consequences. As existing oil and gas deposits begin to run dry, new deposits will need to be extracted, many of which are located on the Pacific and Atlantic Outer Continental Shelves. Putting these deposits off-limits would cause us to go back to the old days of the old normal that had become commonplace under the previous administration. The old normal of relying on foreign adversaries such as Russia to meet our energy needs is preposterous.…”