Brown Fears for Nation's Security with Democrat 'No Energy' Bill

Press Release

Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC), a long time supporter of an ‘all of the above' energy policy, spoke from the House floor today in response to more empty energy legislation from Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats. For fear that our current situation in the US will become similar to that in Europe, where Russia holds half of the continent's natural gas supply under threat of being cut off, Congressman Brown made the following statement:

"The energy crisis that we are facing in America today is affecting every segment of our society. My constituents in coastal South Carolina are getting more concerned as the last days of the 110th Congress pass and we still have not come up with a solution to bring more domestic energy online.

With Russia supplying 50% of Europe's natural gas, my constituents see them as holding Europe as an "energy hostage". Currently America is 70% dependent on foreign energy, and without holding a vote on legitimate energy legislation, my constituents fear that foreign and sometimes unfriendly nations will hold the United States as their ‘energy hostage' in the future."

The Democrat's energy plan will only continue our dependence on foreign oil as it permanently locks up vast amounts of America's oil and natural gas resources and includes no environmentally responsible exploration on the Arctic coastal plain in Alaska. Americans remember the rationing and lines at the gas stations of the Jimmy Carter Era, and with hurricanes constantly threatening the oil platforms in the Gulf, evidence of a similar gas panic is occurring in Brown's First District of South Carolina in response to fears of supply disruptions from Hurricane Ike.

The "no energy" plan continues to withhold American resources from the American people by excluding exploration for oil shale in the American West, expansion of emission-free nuclear power and the development of advanced clean coal and coal-to-liquid technologies. To make matters worse, the Democrats plan to fund the investment in renewable energy by creating an $85 billion tax hike on motorists and consumers.

Most importantly, Pelosi's legislation does not allow coastal states to share in the revenue generated from exploration. Without the incentive to support drilling infrastructure, coastal states like South Carolina, may block drilling off their coasts altogether, proving that this legislation is all politics, and in the end, no action on energy.

Congressman Brown urges his colleagues, Republican and Democrat alike, to join him in supporting only legitimate legislation that will lower the price of gas and set our country on a path to less dependence on foreign energy. For more information about solutions to our nation's energy challenge, visit Congressman Brown's website: http://brown.house.gov/Issues/energy.html.

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