Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act

RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASE ACT -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2008)

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Mr. BOEHNER. Let me thank my colleague for yielding and tell my colleagues that in 1992 I voted for this bill. In 1992, the chairman of the committee voted for the bill. In 1992, Mr. Hoyer, the majority leader, and Ms. Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, voted for the same bill. This is already the current law.

All this is is another excuse put up by the majority to not go after more American energy. That is all this is. And we have had more excuses. We going to blame it on speculators, we are going to blame it on the oil companies, we are going to blame it on OPEC, when there is only one group, only one group in this Chamber we ought to blame, and that is all the liberals in this House who have voted on for no energy each and every time over the last 18 years that I have been here.

Forty-six votes. Forty-six votes have been brought to this floor over the last 18 years that I have been here to produce more American-made energy. I voted yes 46 times out of 46. Ms. Pelosi, as an example, voted yes twice. Just twice. And how many times did the gentleman from West Virginia vote to bring more American-made energy to the market?

We are giving $600 billion a year to people in the Middle East, money that could be spent here in America if we were willing to bring more oil out of our ground in an environmentally safe way.

Republicans have put forward an all-of-the-above strategy. We need to conserve more of our energy, we need to develop biofuels, we need to develop alternative fuels, we need to have nuclear energy, and, yes, we need to produce more oil and gas here in America in an environmentally safe way. But all we get from the other side each and every time are excuses. ``Let's blame somebody else.''

We are about to go home for our Independence Day district work period. We should not leave here until we take steps that will help us move our country toward more energy independence. Not more excuses, not more posing for ``holy pictures,'' as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee would say. We need to bring bills to the floor that will actually put Members on record whether they are for more American-made energy or not.

I am willing to show my constituents how I will vote. Let's let all of America
see how our colleagues will vote, for more American made energy, which is what we need to do to bring gas prices down in America.

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