mr. chairman , i rise in strong opposition to this imbalanced energy bill , which allows big energy companies to exploit our natural resources at the expense of u.s. taxpayers . 
the bill would repeal the public utilities holding companies act -- puhca -- which prevents big energy firms , like enron , from driving smaller utilities out of business and monopolizing the energy market . 
the bill includes a safe-harbor provision for mtbe manufacturers even though the chemical has been detected polluting groundwater sources across the nation , including in massachusetts . 
the bill 's authors included a variety of special-interest favors for oil and gas production despite the fact that producers are already reaping profits from record high energy prices . 
and yet president bush himself admitted that it will do nothing to lower the price that consumers pay for gas at the pump . 
and the bill would open the door to oil and gas exploration in the arctic national wildlife refuge , a pristine habitat that would yield less than three-tenths of a percent of world oil production by 2015 . 
the california energy crisis and today 's high fuel demands are evidence that the nation needs an energy strategy that is focused on clean energy technologies and energy independence . 
the united states needs to become less reliant on foreign energy sources . 
we can not drill our way to independence . 
the only effective strategy will balance increased fuel efficiency with renewable energy technologies . 
instead of using the technology we already have and could achieve to increase the fuel economy of new fleets of vehicles , the bill does little more than order a study . 
unfortunately , this bill will only worsen our nation 's dependence on fossil fuels imported from the middle east . 
at current production levels the u.s. supply of oil will only last another 20 years , while the oil supply in saudi arabia is estimated to last another 75 years . 
our reliance on saudi oil is harmful to our environment and our values . 
fossil fuels like oil and coal provide the vast majority of energy for the united states . 
that was unlikely to change for the near future no matter what bill we had a chance to vote on . 
unfortunately , this bill does little to put this nation on a path to greater energy independence . 
this bill does not represent a national energy policy -- it is 1000 pages of shameless special interest giveaways . 
i urge its defeat . 
