Susan Davis: “I rise regrettably in opposition to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act. While there are many good provisions in the act that…”

“I rise regrettably in opposition to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act. While there are many good provisions in the act that make modest improvements in support of energy efficiency, there are major deficiencies in this bill. My constituents are very clear about the problems they face. First, gas prices are too high at the pump. Second, our country will always have to rely on foreign-produced oil. Third, the costs of electricity have been inflated by the manipulations of energy corporations which have not been required to refund their illegal profits. In addition, many are concerned about the effect of greenhouse gas emissions. This measure does not strongly address these issues. The cost of gas is a function of supply and demand. This body had the opportunity to enact a wisely balanced policy to reduce the demand for oil in this country and to address the supply of fuel by investing aggressively in alternative energy sources. The President's own energy administration have said this bill will have only negligible impact on production, consumption and imports of oil. In fact, they said it will probably increase the price of gasoline by 3 cents per gallon. What this bill does is to authorize more money for existing energy producers to increase oil drilling in sensitive areas for sources of supply that will not greatly reduce future reliance on foreign oil.…”