mr. chairman , i rise today in support of the markey-bishop amendment . 
this amendment includes a provision that permanently bans oil and gas drilling in and under our great lakes . 
i offered this language as an amendment before the committee on rules last night . 
however , the committee on rules republican majority refused to allow my bipartisan amendment to be considered on the floor despite strong bipartisan support for it in the house and by the american people . 
the great lakes are one of our nation 's greatest natural resources and are vital to more than 30 million americans who rely upon them for their drinking water . 
understanding this , congress has repeatedly banned oil and gas drilling in and under the great lakes to protect this vital resource . 
in 2001 , the house voted overwhelmingly , 265-157 , in favor of instituting a ban . 
last week when the committee on energy and commerce marked up this legislation , i offered my amendment . 
unfortunately , the gentleman from michigan ( mr. rogers ) xz4003421 undermined my amendment in favor of a watered-down version . 
that amendment is included in the bill we find before us today . 
the rogers amendment does nothing to stop drilling in the great lakes . 
what the rogers amendment does is leave drilling practices up to the eight great lakes states and their legislatures . 
we could have eight different policies on drilling in our lakes . 
plus it is congress that regulates commerce amongst the several states , as is found in the constitution in the interstate commerce clause . 
the great lakes already face a number of threats , invasive species and contamination that leads to beach closures . 
given these threats , it makes no sense to further endanger the great lakes by opening them up to oil and gas drilling . 
the bottomlands of the great lakes will not provide enough oil or natural gas to make even a small dent in the amount of america 's energy needs that are supplied by imported oil and natural gas . 
and an oil spill on the shoreline can contaminate our groundwater . 
unfortunately , pollution knows no boundaries . 
when one or more of the great lakes states does not have a ban and a blowout or a spill occurs , those states , all of the states , may be forced to pay the public health and environmental price . 
the message is clear . 
even an energy crisis is not enough to justify threatening our great lakes , the world 's largest body of fresh water , to extract what industry experts agree will be a small amount of oil and gas . 
i ask that my colleagues approve this amendment to enact a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling in and on the great lakes . 
