Joe Pitts: “since this Chamber last met, there has been some good news regarding American energy. Over the past 2 weeks, gas prices…”

“since this Chamber last met, there has been some good news regarding American energy. Over the past 2 weeks, gas prices have been dropping, providing some relief for Labor Day travelers. Just this week a group of oil companies announced a discovery of a petroleum reserve that could increase America's proven reserves by as much as 50 percent. This is good news, Mr. Speaker. But more can be done. This year alone, the House has passed several meaningful bills aimed at boosting our domestic energy supply. In May we authorized environmentally responsible energy exploration in Alaska. In June we passed legislation to streamline the process for building new refineries in our country. We also authorized access to the enormous reserves known to exist off our coast on the Outer Continental Shelf. Mr. Speaker, the House has a strong record on energy independence. But there are only a limited number of days left on the calendar. Now it is time for the Senate to take action on these bills and keep the good energy news coming for the American consumer. ____________________”