Joe Pitts: “America does not have enough energy to supply all of the demands today. Californians are facing rolling blackouts and…”

“America does not have enough energy to supply all of the demands today. Californians are facing rolling blackouts and Americans everywhere are paying nearly $2 a gallon for gasoline. Mr. Speaker, this energy crunch should not be a surprise to anyone. We have known for years that this was coming, and we have not built a major oil refinery in the United States in 25 years. It has been just as long since we have built a nuclear power plant. Our dependence on foreign oil has gone up since the 1970s and 1980s, not down, and the rules for when and where one can sell different kinds of gasoline are so complicated, it is amazing we can keep track of it at all. This energy crunch has been looming for years, and the previous administration did nothing to prevent it from happening. Last week, our new President presented a balanced comprehensive and sensible plan for getting us out of this mess. But the liberals in town are calling for price caps. If there is anything we learned in the 20th century, it is that Soviet-style command economies do not work. Just look at what happened in California. Mr. Speaker, we need real solutions. Congress needs to get behind the President's plan, and we need to do it now.”