Ssi Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act

Floor Speech

SSI EXTENSION FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED REFUGEES ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 17, 2008)

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Mr. GINGREY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding, and I do rise in support of H.R. 2608. But I wanted to take the opportunity, Madam Speaker, to talk about energy.

Obviously this is the main issue I think on the minds of most Americans today, and it has led, these high energy prices and dependency on foreign oil that we have been burdened by for lo these many years, since back when we knew this back in the seventies when we had a similar crisis and failed to do anything about it, and it has caused this economy, it is almost like a domino effect in my opinion, Madam Speaker, when you look at the high price of everything, the unemployment rate going up, what has happened on Wall Street, the meltdown in the subprime market.

So we felt and I think most of my colleagues would agree on both sides of the aisle that the energy crisis is our number one concern as we move into the fall elections and congressional elections. Obviously this is a Presidential year.

So my disappointment yesterday, when Speaker Pelosi, returning from the August recess, we, as you know, many on the Republican side, we invited our Democratic colleagues to join us, came back to Washington on a number of days. I think a total of 134 participated, some of us several times.

We had lots of folks down here sitting in the seats because a Member could bring people on the floor, even though the C-SPAN cameras were off, microphones were off, the lights were dim, and we had some in the gallery as well, and talked about this issue. We just couldn't wait for the rest of our colleagues to get back so we could do something.

This motion to recommit with instructions last night, the Abercrombie-
Peterson bill, I think, had 39 Democratic cosponsors, many, many, Republicans, and I think it was a very, very good piece of legislation that did not include ANWR. It carved out ANWR, realizing that was something we agreed to disagree on, and leave that out of the legislation.

But the most important part of the Peterson-Abercrombie bill that differed from what the majority party, as you know, brought to us for a final vote that did pass, it has no incentive whatsoever for the States to allow drilling off of their shores for the billions of gallons of petroleum and millions of cubic feet of natural gas, because they are sitting there thinking, well, gosh, on the gulf coast, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana are getting those royalties and putting them to good use, and we need that.

My State of Georgia, right now, we have 135 miles of shoreline, the great State of Georgia, and we are $1.5 billion short in this revenue year, this fiscal year. I am sure Georgia would be one of the very first to get in line if we had that included. I am disappointed.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Georgia has expired.

Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. GINGREY. I don't know what is going to happen in the Senate today or tomorrow, but hopefully we can get a bill passed through the Senate that has more, more in it than the draft language that wasn't actually in bill form that came out in the Senate 5 or 6 weeks ago with a group of 10, now up to a group of 20.

It's still not too late for this Congress, House and Senate, to do something for the American people. I urge us to do that in a bipartisan way.

Look, let's do the right thing, and I think the election outcomes will take care of themselves. The good people that need to be here will come back, and the ones that don't, won't. Let's just do the right thing for the American people.

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