| WASHINGTON, D.C. ...Calling the Democratic leadership’s latest energy bill “another missed opportunity,” Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX/4) voted against a bill last evening that will do little to increase domestic energy production, reduce gasoline costs for Americans, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. The House approved H.R. 6899 by a mostly party-line vote of 236-189.
“I had hoped that the Democratic leadership would listen to the American people and allow us a vote on a real energy bill that would result in substantial production of much-needed oil and gas,” Hall said. “Instead, they gave us a bill that can only be described as political cover,” Hall said.
“This bill prohibits drilling in submerged lands from 3 to 50 miles off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts – an area where some 88 percent of the oil is located,” Hall stated. “In addition, it prohibits coastal states from sharing the revenue with the federal government – a restriction that will make it highly unlikely that any state will opt in.”
Hall also opposed provisions in the bill that would require the sale of at least 20 billion barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and that would impose a new 15 percent renewable energy requirement on private utilities that could lead to higher electricity costs for consumers. The bill does not include nuclear energy, clean coal or refinery provisions – measures that Hall believes should be included in an energy package.
Hall supported a Motion to Recommit the bill that would substitute the bipartisan “Peterson-Abercrombie” energy bill. This bill would repeal federal bans on environmentally-safe oil and gas production on federal lands, repeal bans on oil and gas production in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and oil shale development in the Inter-Mountain West, and provide tax incentives for renewable fuel and energy conservation programs, among other provisions. The Motion failed to pass by a vote of 191–226.
“Our country needs an all-of-the-above approach that includes domestic oil and gas production, renewable and alternative energy, and energy efficiency,” Hall said. “We need all of these – and we need them now."
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![[News from the HALL of Congress]](release_hed.jpg)