temporary on this day signed nancy pelosi speaker of the house of representatives the pressure will be offered by a with the darkness is fear anxiety prejudice or mere confusion wake us with your dawn or lower free us that we may be children of light faith humble in truth and loving and service empower us to reach out to all our brothers and sisters across this nation may we walk with compassion envelop with a sense of unity as we approach a new day of universal understanding lord make us all heralds of good news whether richly blessed or humbled by need for you can strengthen us by the sheer determination to build your kingdom with the help of one another both now and forever and one i demand but on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal the question is are agreed on the speaker's approval of the journal those in favor please say i suppose please say no  up to five requests for one minute speeches on each side of the aisle or purposes gentlewoman from objection thank you mr speaker i rise today support of house resolution ten eighty nine which i introduced on tuesday calling for an end to the vietnamese government's imprisonment detention and harassment of those who signed the manifesto on freedom and democracy for vietnam on april eighth two thousand and six one hundred eighty vietnamese is unsigned a manifesto in support of peaceful action to bring democracy and basic human rights to the vietnamese people thousands of vietnamese people have since signed this document reputing to be silent while their government continues to violate their human rights in retaliation the governments of vietnam has jailed detained and harassed those brave people i introduced this important resolution to mark the two year anniversary of the original signing of the manifesto and to highlight the ongoing human rights atrocities in vietnam not only does my resolution call in the government of vietnam to release these peaceful advocates but it also asks our state department to establish a list of countries objection thank you mr speaker the miracle of birth is a remarkable happy event none of us pick our parents or the place from which we come the good lord makes those decisions and some of us have the fortune of being born in america yesterday april the ninth at ten twenty eight a m and central texas in the town of waco another child took his first breath of the crisp air of life being born in the land of the free pagan poet xander showed up tipping the scales at nine pounds one ounce and hype of twenty two inches not bad for us first day on earth his mother kara my daughter and his father shana right thinking god fearing people take as little two year old sister shall we say is inquisitive mr speaker we all get excited when kids are born because we see in those innocent eyes the hope of the world the chance that this new child might make a difference for the rest of us my hope monday grandson is that he grows embodying the spirit of truth justice and the american way and that he plays football for the university of texas and not texas i am and that's just the way it is for what purpose is a gentlewoman from california mr speaker i rise today in strong opposition to the bush colombia free trade agreement like many here i would like to see our relationship with colombia strengthened but the nafta style colombia f p a would actually do more harm than good the bush administration refuses to change its stubborn ways by deciding to force the trade agreement through congress without seeking support or input from the house leadership the administration continues to demonstrate its lack of judgment and despite many serious concerns about the colombia free trade agreement this administration continues to believe that it can unilaterally demand and approve legislation as it pleases when it pleases unfortunately it doesn't work that way until the bush administration understands that it must make fundamental changes in its approach to trade this house will oppose it's one sided trade deals we need trade deals that work for american working families the bush colombia f d a is not it michel the state department list hamas as a foreign terrorist organization and it is responsible for the murder of at least twenty six american citizens david and nava applebaum of ohio killed just before their wedding alan beer of ohio marla bennett of california benjamin blues scene pennsylvania david bohm of new york yet tell both to win of the california gina carter of north carolina janice ruth colter of massachusetts california president carter the voices from the grave besieged you do not meet with the man that ordered the amir the murder of these american citizens i urge members to sign our letter asking former president carter not to meet with the killer of american citizens for purposes gentlewoman from illinois rice without objection left by day the state department decided to renew blackwater's one point two billion dollars contract for another year and it has been over six months since blackwater contractors killed seventeen innocent iraqi civilians sixteen months since the christmas eve murder  green zone and thirty five months since a blackwater helicopter drops c s gas on a traffic jam in baghdad yet there had been no arrest no charges no trials no convictions nothing the department of justice the f b i and state department of remain completely silent about these investigations meanwhile those contractors are still working side by side with our troops in iraq but what is even more appalling is that our government has ignored those abuses a renewed blackwater's contract if you owned a company would you we hire someone who has killed dozens of innocent people the state department's decision not only puts the lives of innocent iraqi civilians at risk but a threat and the safety of our troops and jeopardizes our mission in iraq i urge my colleagues to sign on to my bill h r forty one now to the s o s or stop outsourcing security act and phase out the use of military security contractors in iraq and afghanistan for purposes gentleman from south carolina rice this without objection but speaker yesterday general petraeus and ambassador crocker updated members of the house armed services committee and foreign affairs committee regarding the conditions on the ground in iraq noting successes on the military and political fronts both indicated reasons to be optimistic about the progress being made having recently of visited iraq i'm not surprised to hear about the successes violence is down and conciliation is happening but the progress is fragile a sentiment echoed by both ambassador crocker and general petraeus during the hearing me my democrat colleagues ask about the cost of war is expensive yes the cost is expensive my question to the m is what will be the cost of defeat and are you willing to pay for for what purpose a gentleman from florida arise without objection mr speaker i rise today to honor a remarkable and outstanding member of our community mr abbey levine adding his wife mildred have devoted their lives to addressing critical social political and humanitarian issues abby is celebrating an important milestone this week the occasion of his ninetieth birthday at nine decades young abby in addition to his other commitments is working to build a vibrant jewish number of other causes including the boca raton community hospital and their dedication to improving our community is deeply valued madam speaker i join countless friends family members and loved ones in south florida in wishing abby a wonderful birthday and many more years of good health and happiness thank you and i feel my time for what purpose a gentleman from texas rise of this without objection same is bigger on november first the nation's employment verification system a very fast going to expire event is a broken employment verification system that has helped grow oh the number of illegal immigrants in america over twelve million we gotta find new sizzled solutions our bill h r fifty five fifteen the new employment verification act or neither would replace a current paper based an arrow a pronoun and process up on based with an electronic verification system that if a dane would use existing new higher registry reporting process already used by ninety percent of the u s employers this bill will create a national employment verification for new hires that's reliable and efficient with the verify scheduled to expire this year now is it time for the congress to create a new way to move forward that prevents unauthorized employ him i urge my colleagues to co sponsor fifty five fifteen you know bang for purposes of gentleman from tennessee ri the university of memphis law school and the congressman from the university of memphis district i still grieve over the outcome of the game monday night but i want to congratulate the university of kansas for winning the national basketball championship and thank the city of san antonio for being such a wonderful host on behalf of the citizens of matheson's i want the country to know we love our team they brought our city together which needed a unifying force we're proud that our coach who made that team what it was has been named the national coach of the year by the naismith society our players played valiantly we came very very close to a national championship we won more games than a team in n c double a history we will look back upon this year with fondness and appreciation and we will like general macarthur return thank you mr speaker for what purpose a gentleman from california rice just house for me to revise and extend my remarks without the thirty four year history of trade promotion authority we have now decided that we are going to take the action of turning our backs on an agreement that we have made with our closest most important and strongest ally on the continent of south america the vice president of colombia has described this action as a slap in the face hugo chavez and the narco terrorists in colombia are celebrating this action it is an absolute outrage that we would do this now mr speaker i have to say that this administration four years ago embarked on these negotiations two years ago completed the negotiations a year and a half ago signed th since august of last year two hundred and sixty five meetings have been held with democratic members by members of the administration cabinet officials at all and twenty seven meetings have been held with the democratic leadership it is time for us to complete this work it's time for us to strengthen this very important alliance i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote no on the hugo  for what purpose the gentlewoman from california writes mr speaker by direction of the committee on rules i called up house resolution ten eighty three and asked for his immediate consideration the cook will report the resolution house calendar number two hundred house resolution ten eighty three resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause to be of rule eighteen to claim to have resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the for consideration of the bill h r twenty five thirty seven to amend the federal water pollution control act relating to beach monitoring and for other purposes the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on transportation and infrastructure after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five minute rule it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on transportation and infrastructure now printed in the bill the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived except those arising under clause ten of rule twenty one notwithstanding clause eleven of roll eighteen no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose and clause eight of rule eighteen before the beginning of consideration of the bill and except pro forma amendment for the purpose of debate each amendment so printed may be offered only by the member who caused it to be printed or his designee and shall be considered as read after conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments there to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions section two during consideration in the house of h r twenty five thirty seven pursuant to this resolution notwithstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated by the speaker speaker house resolution ten eighty three provides an open rule with preventing requirement for consideration of h r twenty five thirty seven the beach protection act of two thousand and seven the resolution provides one hour general debate controlled by the committee on transportation and infrastructure mr speaker some of our nation's greatest treasures are the beautiful beaches that surround our country so many of us has spent time with our families and friends enjoying our country's pitch picturesque coastline our beaches not only provide a place for relaxation and recreation they're also a vital economic engine that draws tourists from all over the globe as a mother and a grandmother i want to ensure that our nation's children are swimming and enjoying our beaches are safe and free of any harmful contamination unfortunately a recent e t a report found at human health studies over the last fifty years hav swimming and polluted water with significant adverse health effects swimming related diseases can range from minor gastrointestinal diseases to more serious illnesses such as  this is extremely troubling and is a great concern to all of us according to the national is the beaches only fifty seven percent of the nation's coastal recreation areas are being monitored in my home state of california one hundred fourteen of our three hundred fifty six speeches are not monitored leaving a huge amount of people at risk that's why i would like to thank representative polo and for his work on such an important piece of legislation legislation that builds on the ambitious vision that the nine hundred seventy two clean water act stepped forth as an original author of the two thousand bill my friend from new jersey has lawn been recognized for his efforts to clean up our nation's beaches i'd also like to thank representative jim bishop for his leadership and work on this issue the beach protection act built on the great effort of the original beach act is a vital tool that will help ensure the safety our national coastal treasures under the two thousand beach act the e p a was required to work with states to ensure they use the latest science to test each waters to protect public health to protect public health states are required to notify the public is tests showed water quality standards were violated the law also helps states set up monitoring and notification programs in order to provide up to date information on the condition of all public beaches  r twenty five thirty seven the beach protection act of two thousand and eight advances the good work of the original act and takes us into the next generation a water monitoring the bail increases the authorization through twenty twelve for the  ach program by ten million dollars to forty million dollars per year this money will be used by grants to states along the coast and great lakes for recreational water monitoring and notification programs h r twenty five thirty seven also clarifies and enhances public notification when coastal waters are life the contaminated visitors to our beaches need to know when there is crittenton a threat to their health the bill clarified for the public must be notified within twenty four hours when it contaminated water samples found the bill also requires that a physical sign must be posted at any beach where the water may be contaminated this information is essential for public awareness and avoidance of harmful pollutants a charge twenty five thirty seven also promotes increased compliance it requires the e p a administrator to conduct an annual review of implementation by state and local governments if the public is not being protected it requires the e p a to take corrective actions represented palauan has shown tremendous leadership with this bill that puts public safety at the forefront and goes to great lengths to protect our nation's beaches i know is were closely with my friend and colleague representative eddie bernice johnson who chairs the transportation infrastructure subcommittee on water resources and environment later today will debate the chairwoman manager's amendment that direct a to complete and use a rapid testing technology this type of testing is intended to shorten the period between when a water sample is taken and when when results i made public when this testing is in place the period of time necessary for taking for testing coastal waters is likely to shorten from twenty four to simply two or three hours mr speaker passage of the beach protection act of two thousand and eight is an important step to promoting public h and ensuring that the millions of people who visit our closest treasures remain say mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time one travel destination in the world with over eighty eighty million visitors last year they contributed over sixty billion dollars to the economy the state part of the reason so many people come to florida is because of the over one thousand two hundred miles of beautiful beaches throughout the state florida's great beaches provide an endless wealth of recreational opportunities but in order for everyone to enjoy those great beaches we have to make sure that the waters are safe and that they're clean in two thousand congress passed the beaches environmental assessment and coastal health act that legislation was passed to limit and prevent human exposure to polluted coastal recreational waters by assisting states and local governments to implement beach monitoring assessment and public notification programs in addition that act required states and tribes with coastal recreation waters to adopt minimum water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators the legislation being brought to the floor today today with this rule  act through two thousand and twelve and increase the annual authorized appropriation from thirty million dollars to forty million dollars and again a speaker to the majority likes to proclaim that they have offered yet another bill under what they call an open rule but this is not an open rule this is a risk rule according to a survey of activities of the house committee on rules from the hundred fourth congress and open rule is defined and i quote as one under which any member may offer an amendment that complies with the standing rules of the house and the budget act and quote a modified open rule requiring pre printing in the congressional record is defined as a type of rule that permits the offering only of those amendments printed in the congressional record because members under this rule must submit their mamet's prior to floor consideration they are prohibited from offering amendments on the floor as the debate progresses so if a member is watching the debate and has an idea to improve the bill this rule prevents that member from offering their amendment so by its very nature this rule is restrictive it's  open rule and the majority should stop calling it that i also like to point out that once again the majority offers only even this modified open rule or modified restrictive  on non controversial bills bills with obvious bipartisan support for example the underlying legislation passed the house transportation and infrastructure committee by a unanimous vote if the majority really want to live up to their campaign promise of a more open and bipartisan congress and they should offer a truly open rule on this bill and on bills where there's some controversy as well on tuesday that is thing which member the rules committee representative hastings of washington offered an amendment to the rule that would allow the house to consider this non controversial bill under a truly open rule however that event was defeated so instead here we are sixteen months into the new majority with another under another restrictive rule there than on appropriations bills the new majority has allowed only one open rule today they had a chance to double the number open rules but instead they decided to use a restrictive process for a noncontroversial bill i don't know what they're afraid of mr speaker the original beach act was considered under a an open rule a true open rule and we should have considered this bill is under suspension of the rules which doesn't even require a rule this goes automatically to the floor because it's non controversial and we should have instead finished our work on bipartisan legislation to protect americans from international terrorism the foreign intelligence surveillance act known as pfizer or we could have considered legislation to postpone the scheduled ten point one percent cut in medicare payments for physicians and other health care professionals instead what we're doing today mr mr speaker eighty four legislation has existed mr speaker to permit a met agreements that are negotiated with foreign governments by the united states trade agreements to come to that there are certain rules that if it the united states makes a deal enters into an agreement that that agreement will be brought to the floor and so what the majority leadership in this congress has done today is to say yes yes yes but for an except colombia colombia that happens to be our best ally and friend in this hemisphere under the measure today being brought to the floor by the majority leadership of this house they are being insulted and so our trade rules apply yes but for colombia mr speaker that's what the majority leadership has decided to do today what they've told colombia in the midst of a war against narco traffickers financed by narco narco trafficking the enemies of colombia what the democratic leadership of this house is telling the democratically elected government of colombia today is we don't care we don't care the trade rules apply to the world but not to you well fortunately there is an administration and executive branch that is standing with the people of colombia and their democratically elected government and president president out of the levy and there are a lot of members in this house mr speaker who also stand with the people of colombia as they fight the terrorists as they bravely confront the terrorists there's a lot of us in this house who stand with the people of colombia and a lot of us in the senate who also but unfortunately majority leadership has said that colombia today no you're on your own well i want the people of colombia to know mr speaker they're not that they're not alone we will continue to stand with the people of colombia and their democratically elected government despite this day of legislative action that will live live in infamy because that is what the majority leadership has scheduled today the exception the legislative acts exception for in this instance the best ally that the united states has in this hemisphere colombia and that's more than unfortunate now with regard to the the legislation on beaches that is absolutely non controversial should have been brought to the floor automatically  obviously we're all in support of that legislation as a speaker and i reserve the balance of my time to move mr gentlewoman from california recognized misspeak or i'd like to bring it back to the measure at hand which is a tristan eighty three for consideration of h r twenty five thirty seven the beach protection act of two thousand and seven and i'd like to you three minutes to my good friend the gentleman from florida here's another example the house will consider today this role and the beach protection act the intent of the beach protection act is to protect america's beautiful coastline from water pollution but here's the irony big oil interests have filed an amendment that puts our beaches and america's coastlines at risk their proposed amendment seeks to open up our beautiful coastlines to offshore drilling of oil and gas new offshore oil and gas drilling represents a real hazard to our marine environment especially in my home state of florida and the tampa bay area but the beaches the coastal environment marine resources and our billion dollar tourism industry in florida should not be sacrificed for a small amount of oil and natural gas because the oil and natural gas is projected to be recovered if we open up our offshore areas to drilling it's projected to provide less than one month one month supply of oil and gas in addition researchers at the department of oceanography at the university of south florida have warned that it would only take twenty four hours for a petroleum spill in the eastern gulf to selly florida's panhandle beaches and then sweep through the gulf powerful loop current travel through the florida keys and connect contaminate estuaries and beaches from the everglades to cape canaveral and we only have to look back a few years to two thousand and five hurricane katrina hurricane rita hurricane wilma wilma ended up covering resulting in many oil and gas pollutants seriously affecting the beaches in the gulf of mexico the storms cause one hundred twenty four oriel spills into the waters of the gulf of mexico during hurricane katrina alone two hundred thirty three thousand gallons of oil were spilled their worth five hundred and eight hundred gallons spilled during hurricane rita a full year after hurricane katrina b p admitted that a damaged oil well val in the gulf of mexico was still leaking oil the kneejerk reaction to take every opportunity  bill called the beach protection act to open up our beautiful coastline to additional oil drilling as especially in hurricane prone waters like florida's gulf coast is ridiculous not just ironic so let's stay true to the intent of the million dollars and a thousand seven hundred jobs to be created in the first year alone if the agreement with colombia is ratified just like the state that i'm hon represent alone anyways at this point mr speaker i'd like to yield five minutes to the single gentleman from illinois machineguns gentleman from illinois recognized for five minutes without objection you mr speaker i appreciate my colleague for bringing up the issue of energy and condense the connection to energy to this bill because that's what we intend to do here today the irony behind this debate is that americans really appreciate healthy beaches but they're what they're really mad about is the high gas prices i have three kids fifteen thirteen and eight my wife drives from all over the world to meet every event that kids do today and the the soccer moms of the world are outraged over the price of gas that they're paying and what is the democrat majority been doing to burden  continue to affect the price of gas we just heard it let's put more acid off the ability to explore we just heard it from my colleague who just said no more exploration of oil where a plan that the speaker touted would lower gas prices that was over seven hundred days ago we want answers we want this majority to do something about the high cost of gasoline have truck driver truck drivers prepared to strike over the price of diesel four dollars gasoline is on the horizon and this majority is doing nothing nothing here is the energy plan when you have no interview plan you plan to fail when this majority took over the barrel at the price of a barrel crude oil was fifty eight dollars what is it today one hundred and ten dollars pair barrel that translates into a gasoline price of originally two dollars and thirty three cents a gallon to now three thirty four three fifty three seventy five four dollars at three thirty four that's a dollar and one cent increase since this majority took over where's the energy plan to lower gasoline prices the speaker's plan means that you pay more energy costs in this country the beaches that are affected is legislation great lakes the coastal beaches guess what if my i want to take advantage of these healthy beaches i would have to drive about two hundred eighty five miles to get to the great lakes i'd have to drive a lot farther almost seven hundred  forty five miles to get to the gulf coast last year the cost to chicago would be about fifty three dollars this year the cost is seventy six dollars we lose discretionary income when we allow gas prices to go up another connection goes to the great state of florida to to take my family on a vacation that's going to cost me last year one hundred thirty eight dollars to drive this year two hundred dollars to drive you think does not going to affect the economy of the florida coast or areas and my friend from miami you think that's going to halt are our folks going to your state to enjoy these great healthy  can't afford to drive to these beaches to enjoy them anymore and watch the democrat plan for gas prices silence nothing the only plan is a plan to fail the only plan is higher prices here it is fifty eight dollars a barrel when you came in one hundred ten dollars a barrel today let me give you some quotes the speaker nancy pelosi said on april twenty fourth two thousand and six democrats have a commonsense plan to bring down skyrocketing gas prices will the sky rocketing prices aren't going down folks speaker pelosi is plan is to have skyrocketing price increases for gasoline not decreases we got it wrong it's his whole change mentality change is good change can be bad the change in this majority has been bad for the cost of energy in this country and what do we do when we're talking about healthy beaches healthy peaches we ought to be talking about the price of gasoline we ought to be talking about the price of diesel fuel we ought to be talking about the price of electricity generation nuclear power clean coal technology but no healthy beaches i hope my folks can enjoy and benefit by these healthy beaches day since majority leader standing hoyer said democrats believe that we can do more for the american people who are struggling to deal with high gas prices mr majority leader what do you do you raise prices you didn't decrease prices you raise prices everyone knows that prices have gone up truckers are going to strike over record diesel prices diesels this week with an average of more than four dollars a gallon in oregon and washington and nearly four dollars in twelve cents prior to twelve hundred dollars we want to talk about competitive nature we want manufacturing jobs in this country and her jeep prices are killing our ability to compete in the world economy it's killing our ability to get our product to the ports to ship motor seas to be competitive is killing our ability to manufacture the goods using innovation and technology because that requires energy no energy plan is a plan to fail change is not always good this is a change that the democrat majority has brought us fifty eight dollars in thirty one cents the price of a barrel crude oil upon the assumption of the leadership here in this chamber current price today one hundred ten sixty one i had those on velcro tab so i can just keep following that price as it keeps going up sometimes a barrel crude all hard to follow people don't know what  translates into i translated earlier from two hundred two dollars a thirty three cents a gallon to on average three dollars and thirty four cents a gallon and we know we're going to hit four we know it's go hit four and when it hits four who are they going to call they're going to call us and what we're going to say we're going to say oh the democrats promised a plan a two thousand and six the lower prices they're in the majority now let's see their plan failure to plan is a plan that fails you have no plan work creasing our cost the economy is hurting and we bring healthy beaches to the floor healthy beaches high energy costs and my colleague who just followed me talked about excluding exploration of energy she tied this debate to energy she understood the importance of this two additional germans recognize for the additional two minutes democrats have voted not one not twice but four times generates energy taxes on the hundred tenth congress there is a debate in the state of illinois to laura gas tax why so the average american citizen can afford to do the job in rural america when we have to drive long distances that directly affect the pocketbook of every citizen in rural america every citizen they're going to drive twenty thirty forty miles just to go to work look about the inner cities in the traffic congestion the people who are idling they're going to end up paying more four times democrats said we're going to change the gas price debate here in america and we're going to lower prices we know that that hasn't worked not only had they added insult to injury they said not only are we paying enough in gas prices now but we want to put more taxes on gasoline shoot three fifty is not enough let's get to four let's play for fifty a gallon that's paying my higher energy costs and what do we see and the periodicals the newspapers a print media are starting to understand in a buffalo news april night four dollar gasoline scene possible this summer there used to be a time when americans got outraged at three dollars a gallon well we sensitize into over three dollars a gas they were promised by the democrat majority they would lower gas prices they've increased gas prices now we have to get prepared for four dollars a gallon what's next no energy plan is a plan to fail the washington times price at the pump likely to reach four dollars  show minute thank you friend healthy beaches are important we all want to benefit from them i like to take my family to beach a lot of my constituents like to go there but they can't afford the gasoline in the minivan to get them to appreciate these healthy beaches for what benefit the democrats when they were in the majority promised us i've got the quotes they promise lower gas prices lower gas prices i read the quote unquote speaker pelosi majority leader hoyer got one from jim cliburn lower prices why do we have higher price it's about time you start accepting responsibility and do something about these high prices are you back speaker i would understand my colleague would be a set about beacon i would understand why you would be ashamed about talking about healthy beaches and not addressing the real concerns of america which is high energy cost i've been on the floor numerous times recommit over the past year and a half to talk about energy crises one of the big things i've talked about is coal to liquid technologies you know what it was your colleague who was stepped on the floor and talked about we don't want o exploration off their coast we don't want more crude all supplies why have a solution that would help help keep our beaches healthy let's use coal of liquid technologies let's mind our vast abundant resource of coal right here let's build a coal liquid refinery in fact sasol the south african energy company just announced that the that the brits were going to buy synthetic aviation fuel you know we had all these aviation industry folks just go bankrupt these low cost airlines that could get to these healthy beaches you know one of the reasons why they went bankrupt the high cost of aviation fuel those are jobs gone there as are the inability of me and my family on a low cost airline to appreciate these healthy beaches why have a solution they've been to the floor on motions or criminal code or liquid technology you coal refining the liquid fuels put in a pipeline and ship it to our commercial and military aviation i have been using this truck for a year and a half has this majority moved on decreasing our reliance on imported crude oil negligibly zip zero may be on the r f s i voted for and i appreciate that but doing a thing to expand our ability to get our own resources no we're here talking about healthy beaches we don't want to talk about crude oil exploration we want to talk about we want to talk about pristine beaches we don't talk about that we're paying one hundred ten dollars per barrel of crude oil when it was fifty eight hours when you all came into the majority translates to a dollar businesses and industries fall further behind fail to compete because of high energy costs i haven't even got involved and climate change comma change is going to bring additional costs to your gas tank to your electricity in fact the only one who's been intellectually honest about this is chairman dingell was he say fifty cents a gallon more to comply with climate change now we want to do that let's vote on it but you know you won't do it because it'll take that four dollar a gallon gas and move it up to four fifty guess what people are going to say let's reevaluate this let's understand all the world nations are to comply do we want all this pain all this job dislocation all these higher energy costs and no benefit if india and china do not comply we get no benefit all pain no gain all pain job dislocation higher energy costs no gain we ought to instead before we go into any climate change agreement that india and china sign on the dial lines verifiable that we know they're going to comply you know what i've talked to them they're not going to do it they are not going to do it so why assume these costs why burden the american consumer why deplete our hotel and tourism industry by people not being able to get there either through airlines who have failed or the ability to drive long distances to get there this majority has had no plan to address what they have they promised lower gas prices two thousand and six this democrat majority promised lower gas prices lower gas prices what do we have higher gas prices and no plan to mitigate you know how you mitigate it you bring up more supply and you all won't do that gentlewoman reserves the remaining time the jogger's of his record my privilege deal four minutes distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania mr peters gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for four minutes mr speaker i rise today with a deep concern we as a country will be a second rate nation in the next decade if we don't have an energy policy america needs an energy policy we need to have a plan of how we're going to have available affordable fuel for everybody to run our compan to heat our homes to drive our cars we don't have an energy policy folks we have a policy where we've locked up our resources and we're going to let the rest of the world produce our dependence on foreign oil has increased two percent a year every year for twenty years and we're on that path of maybe going to three percent a year because when we don't produce they do and we pay we have the rest of the world consuming greater and greater amounts of energy making us now big for our energy i find it interesting they like to say it's the six big american oil companies i guess is five are the cause of my energy prices the fact is this congress and the last three administrations are the reason we have high energy prices this congress locked up this after right here shows where we're the only country in the world that's locked up the outer continental shelf the best and safest place to produce energy every country in the world produces there cubit will soon be producing energy fifty some miles off our coast where we prohibit folks we need to have an energy policy we need to open up our midwest we need to open up our offshore i have a bill i heard town in here a little bit ago about how we are going to savage the beaches my bill opens up for natural gas only the first twenty five miles are locked up the second one the second twenty five miles are only open to states choose to the second fifty miles are open states can still close it with a legislation and the second hundred miles is open i ask for some member of this congress to show me a natural gas well that has ever polluted a beach natural gas bubbles up out of the ground all over the country from gas pressure in the earth natural gas comes out of the ground naturally and if we put a six inch hole in the ground it comes out in a commercial way that we can heat our homes america's had the highest natural gas prices in the world natural gas is not a world price of oil the world price of natural gas is not a world price for seven years now soon going on eight we've had the highest natural guys price in the world and our fertilizer companies are leaving because they use so much of it our petro chemical manufacturers are leaving our polymers and plastic companies are leaving people who have been built metal treat metal cook food are going to do it in other places where natural gas is a fraction of his hear clean green natural gas is what america ought to be running on until we have viable renewables i met with when people this morning i'm for all the wind we can get but if we double wind and solar which so many people are counting on in the next five years we will be less than three quarters of one percent of our energy needs i find it unexplainable that we have the highest fuel prices for trucks and cars the highest heating home costs on record and this congress doesn't even talk about it we don't have a plan we're doing stimulus packages because energy is taking the life out of our economy folks we're going to need to do a stimulus package every six months because as soon as we inject another two hundred twenty billion in the energy policies of this country are going to suck it right back out because americans are going to spend more and more we have three dollars and forty cent gasoline soon to be five four dollars and if we have a storm in the gulf this summer folks will be looking at five dollar gasoline five dollar gasoline will sink our economy we must have an energy policy are a number of issues that do need to be discussed that are not being discussed and fortunately one issue that should not be discussed is going to be discussed today which is to single out and discriminate against colombia our best friend in this hemisphere  a shocking way ultimately unfortunate way first is recognized first let me say that there is no need to open up more sensitive natural areas to drilling united states has three percent of the world's resources but twenty five percent of the demand is obvious that there is no way for us to join our way to energy independence if we are really concerned about lowering energy costs or reducing dependence on foreign oil we need to invest in renewable resources and we have pass legislation to do just that the open rule before us today is a fair roll that allows for debate on the important issues effaced our country from water pollutants to public health concerns is congress's responsibility to set high standards and it's proper oversight of these issues the underlying bill h r twenty five thirty seven take huge steps to promote public health throughout the great beaches of our country and ensure that our beaches are be preserved for future generations to enjoy and benefit from congress has a distinct obligation to future generations to keep our water plain and preserve our beaches this bill increases funding for states to effectively monitor the house and shares with public notification and takes us into the next generation a water monitoring we have a commitment to keep the man to visit our beaches safe and inform this bill does just that and i urge is adoption mr speaker