Domestic Energy and Jobs Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. POMPEO. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 4480, the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, the legislation we'll vote on before too long, has three very simple missions. The first is to lower and create affordable energy for folks all across America. The second is to create the jobs that go with it. And, finally, it's to begin to put American energy policy back on a commonsense, simple standard that allows affordable energy to be produced here in America by Americans for Americans.
You know, we've seen in these discussions, these debates, that there are two opposing views on how to do this. The first is the view of the folks on the other side who think if we just had one more rule, one more set of regulations, another subsidy, another handout from the taxpayers, we here in Washington, D.C. could find that next great affordable energy source. We've seen how that's worked. We've got gasoline at $3.50 a gallon. We've got utilities all across the country asking for rate increases.
There's another view. There's another way to go about it. It's to let the market respond to price signals. It's to get the Federal Government out of the way, to reduce regulations across the board while making sure that we've still got safe drinking water and clean air. Both of these objectives can be accomplished.
This legislation simply streamlines and simplifies the leasing and permitting processes on Federal lands to make sure that consumers have access to affordable American energy. We have tremendous opportunities right here in America. Right in Kansas' Fourth Congressional District, in Harper and Kingman and Stafford and Edwards and Barber and Pratt, all over south central Kansas, an enormous new opportunity, creating real, affordable energy produced by Americans with American jobs.
We also, through this legislation, say if we're going to tap this important American resource, the SPR, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we're going to make sure and replenish it--again, with American affordable energy.
This is one of the most consumer-friendly, ratepayer-friendly, taxpayer pieces of energy legislation to reach the House floor in a long time, and I would urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.
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