madam chairman , this legislation takes our nation in the wrong direction and fails to meet our energy needs . 
this is a missed opportunity . 
we could have boosted our nation 's commitment to renewable and efficient energy , thereby curbing our reliance on foreign oil , creating 21st century jobs , protecting the environment and providing affordable and reliable energy for america 's families . 
we could have taken on the oil companies that are gouging all our constituents at the gas pumps . 
we could have fought for more hybrid vehicles , higher fuel economy standards and other 21st century technologies . 
but , instead , the republican energy bill doles out favors to the oil , gas and coal companies , keeping our nation stuck in the 20th century . 
this bill allows the oil companies to rip up the arctic national wildlife refuge . 
this bill protects companies that have polluted our water with mtbe . 
we now know that gop means gas , oil and petroleum ! 
the rules committee blocked two amendments i would have offered to this bill . 
the first would have simply extended the tax credit for geothermal energy , giving energy companies the time they need to build geothermal facilities and actually use the incentive this congress already approved . 
my amendment would have promoted the development of geothermal energy in imperial valley , california , and around the nation , creating good jobs and a source of clean , domestically-produced , environmentally friendly , reliable energy . 
yet the republicans on the rules committee shot down this common sense amendment , preventing us from even taking a vote on it . 
they also blocked my amendment to address another very serious issue we are facing in imperial valley -- air pollution from power plants across the border in mexico . 
in the 21st century , u.s. companies should not be able to skirt their environmental obligations by moving a few miles across the border ! 
my amendment would have simply required power plants in the border region to meet our environmental standards if they wish to transmit electricity into the united states . 
in exchange for transmission permits from the department of energy , power plants in mexicali , mexico would have been forced to pay for projects in imperial valley to off-set the air pollution they are sending across the border into our communities . 
with the highest child asthma rate in california , imperial county certainly needs the help , but the republicans on the rules committee once again turned their backs on us . 
we will continue fighting for a better approach to energy in this nation . 
we will fight for an investigation of the oil companies to determine if any wrongdoing has contributed to the sky-high gas prices . 
we will fight for a commitment to geothermal energy and other clean and renewable energy sources . 
and we will continue fighting for an energy policy that reduces pollution in the border region and around the country . 
