mr. speaker , i have always believed something many politicians do not realize : the american people are not stupid . 
this winter , as their car gasoline prices remain high , their home heating bills from natural gas and heating oil go up , they are going to understand this bill has no connection to lowering gas prices and no connection to hurricane katrina . 
what this bill does do is it rides roughshod over environmental laws , and it rides roughshod over local control of new refineries . 
just wait for the public outcry if this bill passes when people find out that refineries can be put up in their backyards with no local input and especially when they find out that these refineries ' profits went up 255 percent last year . 
so what should we be doing ? 
number one , we should genuinely address price gouging . 
the provisions in this bill are toothless at best . 
if we really want to stop price gouging , what we should do is pass the democratic substitute , which would actually beef up the ftc 's ability to prosecute this practice . 
number two , i have been saying this for the 9 years i have been in congress : we need a forward-looking energy policy that puts real teeth into conservation and renewables so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil . 
what does this bill do about conservation ? 
members will be pleased to know it encourages carpooling and van pooling . 
i am going to tell the members the other soccer moms at my kids ' school would be appalled to know that this is all congress is doing to encourage conservation . 
what about renewables ? 
well , i offered an amendment both in committee and at the committee on rules which was denied . 
all this amendment says is let us increase the use of renewable energy in this country . 
i think that the majority of coloradans who voted for an initiative on a ballot last year would agree with this along with the rest of americans . 
what we need , mr. speaker , is a comprehensive energy policy that is more than a sop to big oil . 
vote for the substitute and `` no '' on final . 
