Political Quotes

“I rise to talk about the energy issue also. There are some good things in this bill for our farmers. I especially think the dairy provision was well done. Dairy is very important to Pennsylvania. I was in the food business 26 years of my life. I know how people struggle with their family budgets. But let me tell you, the farmers are reeling with fertilizer costs. Why are fertilizer costs doubling and tripling year after year? And why is 50 percent of our fertilizer now being imported? Because of natural gas costs. Ninety percent of the cost of ammonia fertilizer is natural gas, clean, green natural gas. This Congress refuses to produce natural gas in this country. There has never been a gas well that polluted a beach. Look at this chart. Off-limits. Off-limits. Off-limits. There should be another one in the middle. There should be one up here in Alaska. We have said that we are not going to produce fossil fuel. Natural gas is a fossil fuel. We are not going to produce oil. Our farmers need relief. They need affordable energy to drive their tractors, to dry their grain after they harvest it, and to buy their fertilizer. Folks, this country's economic future, not just farming, but our ability to manufacture, our ability to heat our homes this winter-- right today, we are putting $11.50 natural gas in the ground for next winter's use. Last year at this time, it was $6.50 to $7. Do the math. That's a 40 to 50 percent increase in natural gas costs.”