David Minge: “Mr. Chairman, I rise this afternoon in opposition to H.R. 3322 and in strong support of the Brown substitute. We have…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise this afternoon in opposition to H.R. 3322 and in strong support of the Brown substitute. We have been lulled into complacency by the last few years of ample energy supplies. It should not take a dramatic rise in the price of gasoline for Congress to remember our responsibilities to the energy supply and to the security of this Nation. Unless we pass the Brown substitute, this Congress will only perpetuate the type of complacency that we cannot accept. We need only look to the Middle East to see how our energy security and national security are intimately related. We fought the Persian Gulf war in large part over a threat to our oil supply. The Department of Energy is forecasting that we will become even more dependent on this volatile source of energy during the next 20 years. Our only insurance policy against future energy security problems, like more gas hikes, further pollution and degradation of the environment, is energy research and development. Yet the bill before us today continues extreme cuts to energy research and development that were passed last year by this Chamber in a truncated process and are again a part of this year's budget resolution.”