Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.

I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding.

I think it is wonderful that we are talking about the Soap Box Derby. It is a good thing that it doesn't require any energy or any gasoline, because the gas prices in this country are higher than I think anybody would have expected in our lifetimes. It is about $4 a gallon now, and people are asking me in my district, what are we going to do about this? What can we do about it?

Well, we should have done something about this a long time ago. The principal reason we are seeing these high gas prices is because we are far too dependent on foreign sources of energy. Why is that? Well, I know that as this one Member from Ohio can tell you, I voted 11 times in the last 14 years to open ANWR in Alaska for exploration and drilling. We think we have somewhere between 10 and 16 billion barrels of oil there. Unfortunately, we have handcuffed ourselves and put that off limits.

We also have the Outer Continental Shelf, where we have upwards of 86 billion barrels of oil and huge amounts of natural gas. If we had access to that natural gas, we wouldn't see the high heating prices for heating one's home in the wintertime.

But this is essentially the policy that this new majority here in Congress has put into effect. In reality, over the last decade, decade- and-a-half, even though they were in the minority in the time, they were able to block it over in the other body, in the Senate. So we had the votes here in the House to do it, but they didn't have the votes over there.

When you put huge amounts of energy like that off limits, it means we have to get that oil somewhere, so that means, unfortunately, we have to import it from OPEC nations, for example, who literally just keep the spigot turned down so that there isn't enough supply out there. Then when you have economies in India and China expanding and growing, it is a supply and demand issue. So the price goes up and continues to go up, because we are far too dependent on buying that oil from somewhere else. About two-thirds of our oil we buy elsewhere.

I know when the new Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi, took over here, a few months before the election she made the statement that the gas prices were outrageous. They made a big campaign issue about that. At that time they were $2.30 a gallon. She said that was outrageous, and they had a plan to do something about that. Well, the plan that we have seen from this new majority here in the House of Representatives has resulted in it going from $2.30 a gallon to about $4.00 a gallon in less than 2 years.

So the problem is this new majority that talks about an energy policy, and they actually passed an energy bill recently, it was a no- energy bill, because it didn't open up ANWR, it didn't open up the Outer Continental Shelf. It did nothing about making it possible for us to build oil refineries in this county.

We haven't built an oil refinery since 1976, over 30 years, making it virtually impossible to build an oil refinery. Therefore, even if we had enough crude in this country, we couldn't refine it quickly enough to be able to put it in our cars.

They have also been instrumental in pushing for these boutique fuels, where different States have different blends so the supply is very difficult to get around. That has driven the price up.

Also the liberals here in the House of Representatives over the years, and in this country, for that matter, their policy has been no new nuclear power plants. Now, France has 80 percent of their electricity produced by nuclear power plants. About 20 years ago, the liberals in this country were able to effectively shut down new nuclear power plants being built in this country. We have over 100 of them right now, but that means we haven't built any newer ones. China and India and other countries around the world are building them and relying more and more upon nuclear, but not the United States.

Many of us said what we are seeing now was where we were heading if we didn't change these policies. Unfortunately, this new majority here in the House of Representatives has gone just in the opposite direction from where they need to go. They have restricted us. They continue to restrict us from getting access to new energy which we have under our control in this country. They keep saying, let's just buy it from someplace else. Let's buy it from the OPEC countries. They will be nice to us. Well, they are not being nice to us. It is in their economic interests to continue to have this price continue to go up.

It is an absolute shame. It is a disgrace. It is unconscionable that this Congress consistently votes to make it harder and harder to be energy self-sufficient. That is where we need to go, not being more and more dependent upon foreign sources of energy. If we don't change it, the prices that we see right now, which are extremely high and are hurting an awful lot of people, will continue to go up.

Diesel is another problem. If you talk to any truckers right now, the price now is driving a lot of these people out of business. I was visiting with a fellow who is a farmer in my district last Friday who also has a side business. He had a truck. He pointed out it was behind one of his barns. He said, ``I just park it now.'' It costs $1,500 to fill up his tanks in that truck now. He just can't afford to do it.

And that is affecting every American, because everything that we buy, whether it is furniture, whether it is food goods, almost anything that we purchase in this country is transported at some point or another over truck. That means those prices are going to continue to go up again. So I challenge this majority to change their policies, to take a good look at what they have been doing and the direction that we are heading and reverse that and allow us to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy. Let's bring these gas prices down before it cripples this country and cripples our economy.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding to me, and will place quite a bit of information in the Record on what Democrats are trying to do here in order to put America on an energy independent path. But it is pretty difficult when you have a Bush administration that vetoes everything that we try to do, or threatens it, and you have the kind of speeches that are occurring down here today.

We have got an oil man as the President of this country. His right- hand fellow over there from Wyoming, Mr. Cheney, ran Halliburton, an oil servicing company. So you pretty well know what you have got sitting over there in the White House.

Since they became President and Vice President, this country is importing 1 billion more barrels of oil every year, 1 billion barrels more under the Bush administration. This is not a recipe for energy independence in our country.

This week it was embarrassing to see Secretary Paulson over in Abu Dhabi asking them to, gee, you know, still believe in the dollar, and all of the investors over there made rich by these oil petro dollars, largely U.S. dollars, watching our Secretary give that set of remarks. Similarly, President Bush a couple of weeks ago went to Saudi Arabia and sort of drilled around in the Middle East to see if he could find any additional sources of supply, begging the oil barons.

You know, it wouldn't take that much for him to direct his limousine right up here to Congress, not the Middle East. We have got some rooms over here on this side; we could sit around and talk about what can we agree on in terms of energy independence, what can we agree on here in order to do together what we cannot do alone. Make America energy independent.

As the gentlelady from California said, the President even vetoed the farm bill where we put in a major new title dealing with biofuels. Rural America wants to help lift this country to energy independence.

We are trying to get additions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve suspended for the moment in order to give some price relief to the American people. Gee, it would be great if President Bush would kind of help us out on that.

He hasn't supported any of our renewable energy bills down here on the floor. In fact, if you look at the energy bill that he produced up there, that big report in his first term, he doesn't even deal with renewables. When you have got an oil perspective at the head of the machine, the car doesn't go in the right direction.

And so it seems to me, look at the record. Look at what he has done and not done on these--The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, no support there. Trying to get OPEC and the big oil companies to have some accountability, he doesn't support us on that. Rather than the President taking trips over to the Middle East, he ought to just come right up Pennsylvania Avenue here to the Congress. Meet with the chairs of our committees who really do care about this, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Markey, Speaker Pelosi. We have got a lot of people here willing to talk. But the President is sending the Secretary of the Treasury over to Abu Dhabi and he himself over to Saudi Arabia. What does that tell the American people? A billion more barrels a year imported every year since he became President.

We don't have a partner to deal with over there at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. And that is why the American people are changing the people being elected here. They know America needs change. They want real leadership. They know they are not getting it.

So I say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, it is time to deal. Get the President. Let's talk about something serious for the sake of the Republic.

Here's a list:

Democratic-Led Congress Taking Action To Bring Down the Cost of Gas

Madam Speaker, I have watched over the years on energy what has been happening in this country. Now we are in a big mess, with gasoline prices over $4 a gallon. This didn't just happen by accident; the Democrats have been working to make this happen for the 18 years that I have been a Member of this House. Very interesting.

You know, ANWR exploration, House Republicans, 91 percent of us supported drilling in ANWR. Actually, both houses of Congress in 1995, I believe it was, passed legislation directing drilling in ANWR, and President Bill Clinton vetoed the bill. The Democrats opposed this bill. If we had passed that legislation, if President Clinton had signed it into law, we wouldn't be paying $4 a gallon. And while 91 percent of House Republicans supported drilling in ANWR, 86 percent of House Democrats and President Clinton opposed it.

Converting coal to liquid, 97 percent of House Republicans voted to do that. Do you know that Wyoming is considered the Saudi Arabia of coal in the world? It is one of our greatest natural resources. 97 percent of Republicans voted for that policy to allow the conversion so that it could be used; 78 percent of House Democrats opposed it. It never became law.

Oil shale. We have got lots of oil locked up in shale in the Intermountain West; 90 percent of House Republicans supported oil shale exploration, 86 percent of House Democrats opposed it.

Is there a pattern that you are beginning to see here, Madam Speaker? The fact of the matter is, Republicans have supported every feasible possibility for new forms of energy and it seems like the Democrats, most of them, have opposed it.

I am a Californian. We ought to be drilling right now off the coast of California and Florida and every other place in this country where there are large oil reserves, and there are very large oil reserves in those two cases.

Eighty-one percent of House Republicans voted to do that; 83 percent of House Democrats opposed taking that action.

Increasing refinery capacity. We have heard that we haven't built a new refinery in this country for some 35 years. Ninety-seven percent of House Republicans voted to expand the amounts of refineries; 96 percent of House Democrats opposed it.

Madam Speaker, we didn't get here by accident. Democrats have been talking about energy and opposing effective new ways of developing energy. Republicans' talk has been consistent with our actions.

Now, not all Republicans voted the way I would have liked and not all Democrats voted against our position. But the fact of the matter is, you see these statistics, they have been in the 90th percentile, the high 80s; in one case it was 78 Democrats opposed, 78 percent for the coal to liquid. But everything else I have cited, they have been 83 percent or higher opposed to these policies.

It is no accident gas is $4 a gallon. The policies we vote on do make a difference. Listen and look at the record. The Republicans for years have been trying to get more energy for this country. The Democrats have opposed it. We are reaping a bitter harvest of $4 a gallon plus.

Madam Speaker, please let me set the record straight on congressional action on gas prices.

We now have a law, it is the farm bill, the historic investment in affordable biofuels, and beefed-up oversight on market manipulation. The President's veto was overridden on May 21 of this year. We also have the Renewable Energy and Job Act. It was passed on May 21 and there is a threat of a veto, but it was passed. Then, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, holding OPEC and oil companies accountable for price fixing, and it passed on May 20, it is also under a veto threat.

Now we have a law, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act. It was passed on May 13 and it had a pretty hefty vote to take it out of this House, it is now law. Let's set the record straight.

We also repealed subsidies to profit-rich big oil companies, and invest in renewable energy. It also is under veto threat. It passed here at the beginning of the year, February 27. We also have a law, Energy Independence Law with Market Manipulation Ban & New Vehicle Mileage Standards. It is now law. It passed the House last year on December 18, 2007.

We have another bill that is under a veto threat, a crackdown on gas price gouging. It passed the House on another pretty hefty vote that was bipartisan; it passed on May 23. And, Hold OPEC Accountable for Oil Price Fixing, it passed on May 22 on a vote of 345-72, and it is under veto threat.

Now, Madam Speaker, you are going to hear that the Democrats aren't doing anything, but let me give you the exact votes on all of these bills.

The Republican leader, John Boehner, voted ``no'' on OPEC price fixing, oil fixing. He voted ``no'' on price gouging. He voted ``no'' on renewable energy. He voted ``no'' on energy security.

Roy Blunt voted ``no'' on OPEC price fixing, ``no'' on price gouging, and ``no'' on renewable energy.

Adam Putnam voted ``no'' on price gouging and renewable energy.

Thaddeus McCotter voted ``no'' on renewable energy and ``no'' on energy security.

And it goes on and on and on.

So to set the record straight, we are putting out sound bills to address the oil, shall I say, surge in price, because in my city of Los Angeles I was astounded when I got home to see that Diesel 2 sells in Los Angeles on the average for $4.99.9. I am sure when I get back to Los Angeles in a week it will be $5. The average price of gas in Los Angeles, in my district, and really throughout California, is $4.12 a gallon.

Madam Speaker, we are proposing good and sound legislation to address the needs for energy and renewable energy sources in the United States of America so our constituencies can get back and forth to work and enjoy a better life, and so we need the help of the other party because this should not be an issue that is partisan. It is an issue for America.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 311) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 311.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 311 authorizes the use of the Capitol Grounds for the annual Soap Box Derby. As all Members are aware, this is an annual event held here on Capitol Hill. Activities planned for this event will be coordinated with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and, like all events on Capitol Hill grounds, will be free and open to the public.

The 2008 Greater Washington Soap Box Derby will take place on Constitution Avenue between Delaware Avenue and Third Streets, Northwest, on June 22.

The Greater Washington Soap Box Derby has been held on the U.S. Capitol Grounds since 1991 and has attracted over 60 youth participants in each of those years.

In 2007, for the first time in the 66 year history of the D.C. Soap Box Derby, a local participant won the Masters title in the national competition in Akron, Ohio. The All-American Derby Youth Program is administered by the International Soap Box Derby, Incorporated, an Akron-based nonprofit corporation. This is a family-oriented event and is supported by hundreds of parents and volunteers.

I urge support for the resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the majority leader, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Madam Speaker, how much time do we have left?

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the Congresswoman from California (Ms. Watson).

Madam Speaker, I do have one additional request for time. I yield 3 minutes to Congresswoman Kaptur from Ohio.

I would like to close, Madam Speaker, by simply saying that this resolution was a resolution to allow the International Soap Box Derby, an organization that's a nonprofit based in Akron, Ohio, to use the Capitol Grounds, and I fully support that.

I want to call attention to one thing. In January of 2001, the month that this current President took office, gas was $1.47 a gallon. Today, the national average is $3.81, and I just want that for the record, with all the other comments that have been made on this particular bill for the Soap Box Derby.

I urge the passage of the permission to allow the Soap Box Derby to use our Capitol Grounds.

I yield back the balance of my time.