Steve Pearce: “once again we are here to vote on the majority's newest No Energy Act, and I stand in opposition to that when America is…”

“once again we are here to vote on the majority's newest No Energy Act, and I stand in opposition to that when America is facing the highest energy costs ever. We are here today with a bill that mandates plenty, but has no new energy. We are told that today is a turning point, and it absolutely is a turning point. Last night in that first turning point we took 2 trillion barrels of American oil off the market. Instead of closing off American jobs, we should be working to encourage American energy companies to expand their operations building U.S. jobs and cutting back on the money we send to the Middle East. It is a turning point today if you need the muscle of an SUV or strong pickup. You just aren't going to have that if you are a rancher or maybe in the oil and gas industry or something in the mining industry. It is a turning point for biomass, because we in the West have many Federal lands, but we are restricted from taking off biomass from those Federal lands by this bill today. It is a turning point for conservation, because if you own a 20-room house, 10,000-room mansion like Al Gore does, you might be able to afford the new conservation techniques that are implied and required in this bill. If you are making $25,000 a year, in New Mexico, you probably can't afford that replacement furnace. Our economy needs an expanded domestic energy supply.”