Political Quotes

“we face a real energy crisis in this country which is only going to grow; and to meet that crisis, we need a balanced long-term approach. We are not going to drill our way out of the crisis, nor are we going to conserve our way out of the crisis, nor are we going to work our way out of the crisis through pure energy efficiency. The bottom line is that clearly we have to do all of these things. The problem with this amendment is it takes safe, clear opportunity for domestic oil and gas production off the table, and we have been doing that for 30 years, taking more and more off the table. That is exactly the sort of not-in-my-backyard mentality which has us where we are today. That is exactly what we have to get beyond if we are going to have a balanced comprehensive approach to meeting our Nation's energy needs. The most ironic thing about this not-in-my-backyard argument, it is not even in their backyard. In fact, it is in Federal territory, and it is more in the backyards of Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana than it is in their backyard. Mr. Chairman, if my colleagues want to be so parochial in their approach, then maybe we could make a deal with them: I will not go to Florida beaches for a while. I will just go to Gulf Shores in Alabama, but my colleagues should not demand that and should not use energy from the rest of the country including everything that we explore and drill for and produce in Louisiana.”