i thank the gentleman for yielding me time . 
we can not begin to discuss how we are going to reduce our dependence upon imported oil unless we debate increasing the fuel economy standards for automobiles and suvs in the united states . 
the gentleman from new york ( mr. boehlert ) xz4000350 and i have made this amendment for 4 years in a row . 
now that the public 's attention is on it , the republican majority refuses to have a debate on how we can dramatically increase the fuel economy standards for suvs and automobiles , and we put 70 percent of all the oil we consume into gasoline tanks . 
we also are not having the debate out here on solar energy . 
europe now outspends us on solar energy by four to one . 
japan outspends us four to one . 
china is now passing us . 
no debate , however , under the republican rules , on solar energy as a solution . 
instead , what we have here is new law which will allow for refineries to be built on closed-down military bases , on wildlife refuges , with a mayor or a state incapable of blocking it . 
in fact , if the state or city sues and loses , they must pay the legal bills of exxon-mobil . 
but if the city wins , exxon-mobil does not have to pay the legal bills of the city . 
that just shows you how backwards all of this is . 
we should be debating a futuristic , innovative , energy strategy to cut in half our dependence upon imported oil , to use automotive technologies , to use solar and wind , to quadruple our expenditures , to surpass the world , to be number one looking over our shoulders at number two and three in the world , to do what president kennedy did in responding to the sputnik challenge of the soviet union . 
instead , our industry that engaged in a conspiracy to shut down 30 refineries in the last 10 years is now coming here and asking us to waive the clean air act as the answer to their irresponsible actions . 
that is absolutely wrong . 
this bill must be defeated . 
mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to this bill . 
the race is on . 
it is a worldwide race among nations to embrace and own the energy technology of the future . 
right now , the united states is not even at the starting line . 
we 're not even tying up the laces on our running shoes . 
energy is the lifeblood of our economy , of our security , or our lives . 
oil , black gold , runs our cars , machines , and planes and heats our homes -- what if it just stopped coming ? 
think about it . 
it would take simply a decision of one or two oil producing nations to cut off critical supplies of oil to the u.s. tomorrow . 
the impact of such disruption to our economy would be crippling . 
al qaeda has already identified this american vulnerability -- our energy dependency achilles heel . 
they call on jihadists everywhere to attack not just people , but also oil wells and pipelines , arguing that `` the killing of 10 american soldiers is nothing compared to the impact of the rise in oil prices on america and the disruption that it causes in the international economy. '' the decisions being made today by the republican-controlled congress are handicapping our nation at the starting line . 
while this house is busying itself with the care and feeding of the industries of the last century -- oil and gas production and refining , we are doing precious little to develop the energy technologies of the 21st century . 
the only solution the republican leadership in congress has to offer up to our current energy problems is giving oil companies more giveaways and more exemptions from environmental laws . 
meanwhile , other nations around the world are beginning to race ahead of us . 
the european union already has set a target of meeting at least 20 percent of its overall energy consumption with renewable energy technologies by 2020 . 
they 've just passed a resolution in the european parliament to increase that target up to 25 percent . 
aggressive renewable energy policies have put europe on track to increase electricity generated from wind ten-fold and from solar photovoltaics 45 times by 2020 . 
a major factor making this rapid growth possible is the significant investments european governments have made in r & amp ; d . 
we spend a paltry $ 80 million on photovoltaics , for example , whereas europe spends $ 300 million . 
so does japan . 
what 's more , according to christopher flavin , chairman of the world watch institute , china is set to overtake everyone . 
`` in 5 years ' time we see china as a world leader in this department . 
... .. 
already , 35-million homes in china get their hot water from solar collectors . 
that is more than the rest of the world combined. '' china has also adopted cafe standards that by 2008 will require cars to get 40 miles per gallon and trucks to get 21 miles per gallon . 
china is also purchasing hybrids from abroad and developing hybrid production capabilities . 
how do we expect to keep up , let alone lead , in these emerging innovative energy technology markets if we starve our r & amp ; d sector and refuse to set bold goals that stimulate creativity and achievement ? 
americans know in their bones that we need to do more -- that we are lagging behind in this race . 
every time we pull up to the pump and watch the cost of the gasoline filling up our cars , ringing up to $ 40.00 for a tank that is barely full , we are reminded of the need to get out of this mess . 
consumers are paying the price for the republican congress ' submissiveness to the big oil companies , for its lack of vision . 
consumers lose when the republican congress allows america to slip behind the pack of nations racing to lead the energy industries of the future . 
right now , we have few choices but to return to the pump , fill our cars and hope that this spike that has lasted for over 2 years is going to break soon . 
we owe our citizens a new vision for america 's energy future to hang their hopes on . 
hope without vision is a four letter word -- our vision for restoring america 's greatness through an energy challenge gives wings to the hopes of americans wondering when this crunch will end . 
this is a can-do nation that has never stepped down from a challenge . 
today we can not afford to walk away from the challenge to lead the world in the future of energy technology . 
in 1961 , president kennedy announced a goal of sending a man to the moon and returning him safely to earth . 
by 1969 , neil armstrong was standing on the moon looking up at the earth . 
we need a similar visionary leadership today . 
instead of the bill before us now , we should be bringing a bill to the floor of this house which would : adopt a national policy of cutting our dependence on imported oil in half within the next decade . 
recognize that since we consume 25 percent of the world 's energy but have only 3 percent of the world 's oil reserves , we can not drill our way into energy independence . 
embrace innovative energy technologies to improve the fuel efficiency of our cars and suvs so that we make our motor vehicles at least 1 mile per gallon more efficient every year for the next 10 years . 
launch a manhattan project scale r & amp ; d initiative that is twice the size of comparable programs in the european union , japan , and china combined . 
mandate that at least 30 percent of our nation 's overall energy needs be met with solar , wind or other renewable energy sources , or with energy efficiency measures . 
create public and private partnerships to help rapidly commercialize and deploy a whole new generation of super-efficiency hybrid vehicles to deploy solar energy to our homes and businesses , to broadly deploy wind turbines around the country , to deploy fuel cells , clean-burning coal , more efficient natural gas and alternative fuels . 
the u.s. is the technological engine of the world and we must lead the innovation in wind , solar energy and new fuel sources . 
we can not , we must not lose this race . 
if the democrats were in charge of this house , we would be challenging america to establish a national oil savings goal , drive the future of the energy industry , and revolutionize our domestic use of fuels . 
democrats would be setting an agenda of innovation and establishing measurable goals to test the success of this to measure the success of their energy policy . 
we would be demonstrating that a modern economy can grow and provide jobs to its citizens without sacrificing the quality of its air , its water or its most precious natural heritage areas . 
that is what we need to be doing on the floor of this house , and that is what the bill before us today entirely fails to do . 
i urge the house to vote down this bill . 
