i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time , and i appreciate his managing this rule . 
mr. speaker , gasoline prices , gasoline prices , gasoline prices . 
that is what my constituents are talking to me about . 
and they do not need to talk to me about it . 
all i need to do is go and try to fill my car up myself , which i do , and i will tell the members that it is very clear that those prices have continued to increase . 
they are increasing , in large part , because of global demand and the fact that we have to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we move in the direction of alternative sources of energy and making sure that we have access to obtain domestic energy self-sufficiency . 
we have a rule here which is a very fair and balanced rule . 
i wish we could have made a lot more amendments in order , but we made 30 amendments in order on this measure . 
in the 107th congress , we made 16 amendments in order ; in the 108th congress , 22 amendments made in order ; and now , in the 109th congress , 30 amendments made in order . 
twenty-two of those 30 amendments were offered by democrats . 
three of those 30 amendments made in order are bipartisan amendments , democrats and republicans joining together to offer amendments , and five of those 30 amendments are offered by republicans . 
i believe that we are going to allow for the debate to take place on a wide range of issues . 
i want to congratulate all of my colleagues and committee chairmen who have worked on this . 
the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton ) xz4000180 , the gentleman from california ( mr. thomas ) xz4004010 , the gentleman from new york ( mr. boehlert ) xz4000350 , and my good friend , the gentleman from california ( mr. pombo ) xz4003220 , who is here in the chamber . 
lots of people have worked to fashion this very , very important piece of legislation . 
it has been in the works for 6 years . 
we have been this close , this close to making it happen in the past , mr. speaker , and unfortunately , the fact that we have not been able to make it happen in the past has played a role in increasing the cost of gasoline , has played a role in ensuring that we have not been able to pursue alternative sources of energy , has played a role in making us more dependent on foreign sources of oil . 
so , mr. speaker , i will say that i believe that we now are on the verge of what will be another great bipartisan victory in this congress . 
i am very proud that democrats and republicans have come together in large numbers on both sides to pass bankruptcy reform legislation , class action reform legislation , our continuity of congress bill , permanent repeal of the death tax , and passage of the real i.d . 
border security act . 
all of these measures have passed with between 42 and 122 democrats joining with republicans to make sure they pass . 
tomorrow , we are going to pass out this measure , again with strong , bipartisan support , ensuring that we work together to get the work of the american people done . 
support this rule and support the passage of this very important legislation . 
