Blue Dogs
BLUE DOGS -- (House of Representatives - September 09, 2008)
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Mr. CHILDERS. Thank you, Congressman Ross.
I am pleased to join my fellow Blue Dogs together in a discussion about this energy crisis that America finds itself in.
For far too long, the United States has not had any tangible national energy policy to address our continued dependence on foreign energy sources. As a matter of fact, it was a Democrat in the White House the last time that this country even had an energy policy. His name is Jimmy Carter, and he's still alive and well in the State of Georgia tonight.
It is my belief that we need both immediate and long-term solutions to ease the burden on the citizens of the First Congressional District of Mississippi, the citizens of Mississippi as a whole, and, yes, the people all across this great Nation tonight in the United States, all of us who make up the United States of America, who, on a daily basis, face increasing costs at the gas pump and in their households.
This is a reason that I was proud to be an original cosponsor with my fellow Blue Dog Congressman Mike Ross on the American-Made Energy Act of 2008.
And incidentally, I had introduced a six-point energy plan just prior to this, and I realize that many people share my ideas. Many people share my ideas of drilling. Many people share my ideas on America's renewable resources, just as Congressman Ross did. And in order to move a large portion of my energy plan into law, I was pleased to sign on as a cosponsor to then-recently introduced legislation, the American-Made Energy Act of 2008, H.R. 5437. It has won considerable bipartisan support.
And so much has been said, as has even been said in this hour prior tonight, that just because we're Democrats, we're opposed to drilling. Let me just say this for the record: I'm very much in favor of drilling, and I join many of these fine Blue Dogs tonight who join me in that. And we're pleased to be a part of that, even though, as the infamous or famous T. Boone Pickens just said, ``We can't drill ourselves out of this mess that we've gotten ourselves in, and we didn't get into it overnight.''
Across America tonight--please hear me on this--we got into it because we don't have an energy policy. We haven't had an energy policy since the 1980s, really the late 1970s.
As a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, I have been committed to working toward immediate relief to American consumers by supporting legislation in this wonderful body, the United States House of Representatives, that responsibly increases domestic drilling capacity, while holding the oil industry accountable to the enormous profits being collected on a quarterly basis.
I have continually advocated for open drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, along with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When I am back home in north Mississippi visiting these small counties and small towns, I routinely tell those crowds that if they find oil in my backyard, they are welcome to put an oil derrick down right behind my house in Booneville, Prentiss County, Mississippi. And if the noise is too much, I will move, but I'm for drilling.
I mentioned above that our energy crisis is not all about short-term or immediate quick fixes. Personal accountability is a huge step toward getting Americans to purchase vehicles that are capable of traveling at ranges that exceed the current CAFE standard which is presently 27.5 miles per gallon.
I introduced legislation before the August break, H.R. 6773, which provides a $100 tax credit for every mile per gallon a vehicle goes over the nationally mandated fuel economy standard to a family and/or individual who purchases an automobile that qualifies under H.R. 6773.
Let me use, for example, the Prius, Toyota Prius, which I am so pleased to say will be made in a very short time in northeast Mississippi at the intersection of three great counties: Pontotoc, Union and Lee counties. I passed by during the break, and I saw the steel going up. Within a couple of years, Toyota and north Mississippians will be manufacturing a hybrid automobile that presently gets 46 miles per gallon.
Using my numbers and the legislation that I introduced, 46 miles per gallon minus 27.5, which is the present CAFE standard, that's 19.5 miles per gallon that automobile will get over the present CAFE standard. Using my numbers of $100 per mile per gallon, if you bought an automobile, a Toyota Prius, you will be entitled to a $1,950 tax credit. I think this is an appropriate step to incentivize Americans to start buying automobiles that are less dependent on foreign oil.
But let me say, it's not just about the Toyota Prius. I'm very pleased and
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very proud to say that we're going to be making those Toyotas in north Mississippi, but I want Ford Motor Company to take advantage of that. I want General Motors to take advantage of that. I want Chrysler and Nissan and so forth, I want all of these. It's not just a Toyota thing.
Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. I appreciate the opportunity. I am pleased to be a part of this great body. I am further pleased to be part of the Blue Dog Democrats, Democrats who are about the business of fixing the mess that we have gotten ourselves in over a period of almost 30 years. I'm proud to be a member of a body that is willing to take a stand, try to develop an energy policy for this country, one we've not had since the days of Jimmy Carter.
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