mr. speaker , i rise today in opposition to the gasoline for america 's security act and in strong support for the substitute offered by the gentleman from michigan ( mr. stupak ) and the gentleman from virginia ( mr. boucher ) . 
our nation is facing a real energy crisis . 
the people of connecticut , and millions of americans , are paying record amounts to fill their gas tanks . 
the energy information administration ( eia ) estimates that in the upcoming winter , homeowners in the northeast can expect to pay almost 30 percent more to heat their homes . 
american families will pay hundreds , if not thousands , more in extra energy costs this year . 
this will be a hard year for too many americans . 
yet , in the name of hurricane katrina the house majority leadership is pushing a bill that does nothing to reduce our dependence on oil , lower gas prices , or help americans get through the upcoming winter . 
we can not solve high gas prices by throwing money at oil companies . 
we need to bring some real transparency into the oil industry and shine the brightest possible light on how these companies -- making billions in record profits are squeezing every possible dollar out of the american people . 
it 's our american families who are struggling to heat their homes and fill their tanks this winter that need relief , not big oil . 
i was honored to join the gentlewoman from new york ( mrs. slaughter ) in offering an amendment that would have ended the practice of wholesale price discrimination by prohibiting oil companies from restricting the source of a dealer 's supply of gasoline . 
this amendment , based on legislation proposed by connecticut attorney general richard blumenthal , would have gotten straight to the heart of high gas prices by freeing our local gas stations from the hold of big oil companies . 
the hard truth is that our small local gas station owners are just as much at the whim of big oil companies as the rest of us . 
they are locked into restrictive franchising agreements that require them to purchase their supply from a single wholesaler . 
as a result many of these owners , who may own two or more stations last night , while i was waiting at the rules committee to testify on our amendment , i had the opportunity to listen to many of my colleagues offer amendments that would have significantly improved this bill . 
from increasing fuel efficiency , addressing the natural gas crisis and making our nation energy independent , it was clear to me that there are many worthwhile ideas that deserve real debate on the house floor . 
unfortunately , as they do time and again , the majority rejected these excellent amendments in favor of pushing a bill that will do nothing for americans paying high energy costs . 
instead of throwing taxpayer dollars at an industry making record profits , let us debate the real issues that are driving up the cost of energy . 
let us take on the price gouging and market manipulation that is happening at all levels of oil production and distribution . 
let us have a real discussion on how we can free our nation from dependence on foreign oil and develop the hydrogen and fuel cell technologies that will lead our energy future . 
these debates are not taking place on the house floor today . 
the american people deserve better . 
