John Hansen: “Mr. Chairman, it is time to take a long, hard look at what must be done to help our Nation meet its energy needs. It is…”

“Mr. Chairman, it is time to take a long, hard look at what must be done to help our Nation meet its energy needs. It is time to look past the special interest groups, the people who feel they run this Nation, their letter campaigns and political partisanship. This bill is right for the country. ANWR is right for the country. Producing more energy on existing energy sites is right for the country. It is right for American workers who look forward to 735,000 new, high-paying jobs. Why are these people against American workers? American workers are the greatest people on earth. They work hard, they get their money, they are patriotic Americans. Yet we hear from the other side that they are against these workers. I would hope that every person who looks at this takes care of the American workers. It is right for American consumers discouraged by wildly fluctuating prices. Look what they paid in their energy bills this year. Every time they drive up to the gas pump, they do not know whether it is 15 cents higher or lower. That should not happen. It is right for the national security of America because we cannot rely on those we can hardly rely on. That is what we are doing now. This bill is a bill whose time has come.”