Steve Scalise: “Mr. Speaker, why would we want to extend unemployment benefits when we can instead pass legislation that will create…”

“Mr. Speaker, why would we want to extend unemployment benefits when we can instead pass legislation that will create more American jobs and lower gas prices at the same time? We can create American jobs by passing legislation to increase the supply of oil by exploring our own natural resources, in places like ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf. We can create more American jobs by passing legislation to expedite the permitting process to increase refining capacity here in our own country. We can create more American jobs by passing legislation to explore alternative sources of energy. We can create more American jobs, and not only will these pieces of legislation do that, these pieces of legislation will also reduce unemployment and lead to lower gas prices at the pumps. Rather than passing a bill that pays unemployment benefits for a year to someone who only worked for 2 weeks, like this legislation does, rather than passing a bill that adds more than $8.5 billion to the Federal deficit, I call on Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in Congress to set this bill on the side and bring up our legislation that will increase the supply of American oil, reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and, most importantly, create more American jobs and reduce gas prices.”