Mike Conaway: “I rise tonight to support an amendment that would address what I believe is a hypocrisy that permeates a very important…”

“I rise tonight to support an amendment that would address what I believe is a hypocrisy that permeates a very important area of national policy. Section 3010 of this bill will pull funding for LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, from fiscal 2007 into fiscal 2006. The idea is that certain low income folks need help with high fuel prices, high home heating fuel bills or just home heating bills in general. The reason we have high bills is a lack of supply of crude oil and natural gas. While we have this lack of supply, it is because we have not drilled in certain areas, which I believe will provide prolific reserves that would address the energy costs. None of us like these high energy prices we are experiencing. There are no short-term solutions. But the most immediate impact we can have open prices is to drill in areas where we have reserves. These areas include the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, as well as the outer continental shelf. There have been many attempts, throughout my short time I have been here, to open up these areas to drilling. The drilling contractors, the operators today so, can do so in an environmentally sensitive way and a responsible way, and it is hypocritical of us to, on the one hand, ask the taxpayers of this country to underwrite the high energy bills, and then, on the other hand, restrict supply that, in fact, drives up those costs.…”