Debbie Dingell: “we have a bad bill. It is represented as being something which is going to save money and increase energy supplies. The…”

“we have a bad bill. It is represented as being something which is going to save money and increase energy supplies. The Energy Information agency says neither of these cases is true. It is not going to reduce energy prices, but rather will increase the cost of gasoline. Let us look at what our country needs. It needs Congress to pass a real energy bill, not a flawed bill that will hurt the environment, hurt consumers, and cost taxpayers a bundle of money. Democrats have been trying to work with our Republican colleagues to get balanced, sensible legislation, starting with a clean slate in a bipartisan fashion. We have been denied that opportunity. The Republican leadership chose, instead, to push an outdated energy bill which had its origins in the secret Cheney Energy Task Force and was negotiated in secret conference meetings which excluded the Democrats. The administration's own Energy Information Administration analyzed the old bill saying changes to production, consumption, imports, and prices are negligible. It even found, as I noted, that gasoline prices under the bill would increase more than if the bill were not enacted. While the bill will little help our energy independence, it is far from benign. Despite our efforts to overturn the antienvironmental provisions of the bill, it weakens laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank program that protect the environment and public health.…”