mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from michigan ( mr. stupak ) xz4003910 and the gentleman from virginia ( mr. boucher ) xz4000430 for their leadership in offering this substitute , and i am proud to join them . 
i rise in strong support of this substitute for two reasons . 
unlike the underlying legislation , it contains a meaningful deterrent to price gouging , and it provides an effective strategy to expand refinery capacity . 
we can all agree there were some good provisions in the first energy bill , but katrina exposed its shortcomings , as well as vulnerabilities that still exist in the energy market . 
we can also agree that the hurricane made it harder to meet the challenge of delivering relief to families struggling to pay their energy bills and that a rash of price gouging compounded this problem . 
our substitute takes direct aim at these challenges by creating a strong deterrent to price gouging that keeps gas prices stable . 
the underlying bill sets an $ 11 , 000 fine for price gouging . 
that may sound like a lot to the average middle class family , but it is not much to the exxon-mobils of this world who earn record profits . 
in contrast , this substitute deters price gouging at every stage of production , not just the retail phase , but at all phases in the chain of supply , and this will strengthen those measures . 
mr. speaker , now is the time that we must stand up to profiteers by assuring hardworking american families that congress is standing up for their interests , not the oil companies ' . 
i urge my colleagues to support this substitute that protects american taxpayers and our national security . 
