mr. speaker , we have before us today a hastily crafted minimally reviewed bill of doubtful value and most curious circumstance . 
we have had no hearings on the specific measure before us . 
the major changes in language in the bill were revealed late last night , i believe at 11 p.m . 
we have not received a single response to the questions we asked of the department of energy and the environmental protection agency . 
we do not know whether the provisions in the energy bill passed less than 2 months ago to expedite refinery siting are working . 
we do not know what these new provisions on refinery sitings are going to do . 
we literally have before us a bill which is composed of scraps assembled from the waste baskets at the house legislative counsel , crafted together by my republican colleagues to do something which they will have great difficulty in explaining today . 
there can only be one explanation for this rush to the floor , and that is the desire of the republican leadership of the house to use the hardship of the devastation of hurricanes katrina and rita to push various parts of their agenda . 
the former majority leader , as is custom , has tried to blame democrats for all ills , saying , and i quote , `` [ t ] he democrats made us drop many important issues out of the last energy bill that would have helped this situation that we have found ourselves in now , and it is time to go back and revisit those. '' i would remind the house that it was widely pointed out when that legislation was before us what a remarkable example of bipartisanship and legislative cooperation it was . 
of course , the committee chairman has offered to negotiate , and i want to express my affection and respect for him . 
but the predetermined schedules of the goal meant that all the republicans wished to negotiate for was political cover for themselves and perhaps surrender by the democratic members . 
now we have before us a poorly thought out and poorly vetted effort to pass the republican and energy wish list . 
this is not the way to respond to energy issues raised by hurricanes . 
if we decide to act on an expedited basis , we should be focusing on immediate problems of rising gasoline prices and anticipated increases in natural gas and home heating oil prices which are coming upon us in the fall . 
democrats will today offer a sensible substitute that provides tough consequences for price gouging whenever it occurs in the industry , not just by the little corner gas station . 
our substitute will tackle the problem of limited refinery capacity head-on by creating a national strategic refinery reserve patterned after the successful strategic petroleum reserve . 
we direct the secretary of energy to establish and operate refineries that will help protect our national security and protect consumers from supply disruptions . 
the public interest demands no less . 
i urge my colleagues to vote against the bill and for the democratic substitute . 
