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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today released the following statement regarding the reckless and irresponsible energy bill that the Republican-controlled Congress narrowly approved 212-210 today. Hinchey voted against the measure.
"First of all, what we just saw on the House floor today was a real shame. The Republican leadership held the vote open longer than what was originally called for so that they could twist arms and finally narrowly get the bill passed. Once they had enough votes to win, they slammed the gavel and closed the vote. This was not an act of democracy; it was a greedy act of a monolithic government.
"It was bad enough that the country had to endure the passage of a reckless and irresponsible energy bill this summer, but now Republicans in Congress are forcing the American people to deal with yet a second disastrous energy bill. This sham of an energy bill does nothing of substance to address price gouging or the need for alternative energy development, but does everything to put more money in the pockets of rich oil company executives who are already enjoying record profits at the expense of everyone else. The energy bill passed in July and the one approved today are both far too deferential to the energy companies; everything goes to the energy companies and nothing goes to the American people.
"One of the things you can say about the way in which the Republican Party has handled the energy problem in this country, is that they are consistent. They are consistently on the side of the big oil companies and against the American people. This goes back to the early days of the Bush Administration when Vice President Cheney convened secret meetings with top energy company executives to devise a plan that would help strengthen the industry at the expense of the public. The vice president even fought in court to keep the details and participants of those meetings a secret. That is not how our government should operate.
"Republicans talk about wanting to have open and free markets so that the American people are best served. However, what they have done through these energy bills is create a closed market that is controlled by big oil, for big oil, and against the American people. This is not a joke, but Republicans have made it one. From coast to coast, Americans are struggling to find money in their personal budgets to pay for gas to get to work, school, the grocery store, and other places where they need to be. And when winter comes, people are going to die because they will not be able to afford home heating oil. This is a very serious situation that needs a very serious solution.
"What we should have approved today was the Democratic alternative measure that would have cracked down on price gouging in a strong and effective way by penalizing oil companies who violate the law to the point that they would never think to price gouge again. And we should have invested our resources in alternative energy, conservation, and efficiency requirements, including increased fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. Such an energy reform measure would be forward looking and visionary. Our country can no longer depend on oil as its primary energy source. Alternative energy and conservation are the solutions on which we should focus and we need an energy bill that will do just that. The American people deserve far better than what this Congress presented them today."
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