Mike Levin: “I support the rule and urge the House to adopt the Energy Independence and Security Act. The basic issue before us is…”

“I support the rule and urge the House to adopt the Energy Independence and Security Act. The basic issue before us is whether we are going to take action to address energy security in this country, or are we going to sit on the sidelines and let American consumers and businesses fend for themselves. All of us know that we can't continue business as usual. The price of oil stands near $90 a barrel. In my home State of Michigan, gas costs over $3 a gallon. Families are struggling with persistently high home heating costs. At the same time, the effects of climate change are becoming more and more pronounced, yet the United States remains the only industrialized nation in the world that has no plan to address global warming. The package before the House strengthens our energy security, lowers energy costs, grows our economy, creates jobs, and begins to address global warming. It also bolsters our national security. Today we import more than 60 percent of the oil we use. It is simply not in our long-term security interests to continue to rely on oil imports from the Middle East and other volatile regions of the world. We can't drill our way out way out of this situation, so we need to try another approach. Many of the provisions of this legislation are common sense and will achieve significant energy savings with little or no cost.”