Cliff Stearns: “here we go again. As I said, this is the third time, and it should be a charm. We have passed this comprehensive…”

“here we go again. As I said, this is the third time, and it should be a charm. We have passed this comprehensive legislation before; and I know I speak for a lot of my colleagues, probably on both sides of the aisle, that we should finally move forward after the large increases in gasoline. This is a timely piece of legislation. The Department of Energy predicts by the year 2025, U.S. oil and natural gas demand will rise by 46 percent with energy demand increasing 1 percent for every 2 percent in GDP growth. This increase in demand at home, coupled with the explosion of demand worldwide, has led to the increase in the cost of crude oil. To combat this, and the resulting record gas prices, the American people today are looking for Congress to act and we are doing it. This legislation contains a number of provisions that would lower gas prices. H.R. 6 encourages more domestic production of oil, promotes a greater refining capacity, and increases the gasoline supply by stopping the proliferation of expensive regional boutique fuels. {time} 1530 Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6 and finally enact solid, comprehensive energy legislation for the American people. Mr. Chairman, here we go again. As they say, the third time's the charm. This is the third Congress in a row we have tried to pass comprehensive energy legislation.…”