New Direction For Energy Independence, National Security, And Consumer Protection Act

Floor Speech

NEW DIRECTION FOR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - August 04, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I might consume.

First of all, I am grateful to the Rules Committee for making this amendment in order. It is a very narrowly crafted amendment. Section 9003 of H.R. 3221 requires residential boilers to meet a series of energy efficient requirements.

As you know, the Amish, which I have the privilege to represent, do not use electricity; it's against their religious beliefs. If the bill, as presently written, were to become law, the Amish would be forced to try to maintain their present boilers in perpetuity, creating an obvious and an avoidable safety hazard.

Now, I know there are not a lot of Amish; they are comparatively few in number in this country. We only have something like 25 States that have Amish living in them, but I think we have a duty to be sensitive to their way of life, consider their needs when making law. I have a very simple amendment. It will provide an exception for boilers that operate without the need for electricity supply.

Simply stated, boilers that are manufactured without any need for electricity, without any electrical connection, any electrical gauges, electric pumps, electric wires, electric devices of any sort would not be required to meet the requirements of this section.

I urge passage of my amendment to protect the Amish and their way of life.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source