mr. speaker , we have a national energy crisis now . 
if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not appreciate that fact , i would suggest that they go home to their districts and listen to their constituents . 
instead , we are rushing a flawed bill to the floor that will once again reward the very industries that have gouged the american people . 
it is unacceptable for anybody in this congress to say we can not do anything about the short-term crisis of high energy costs . 
we must . 
that is what our constituents expect us to do . 
that is what we should be doing today here on the floor . 
the cost of filling a tank of gas ranges between $ 40 and $ 100 . 
there are workers whose wages do not compensate for the cost of driving to and from work . 
i have senior citizens in my district and low- and moderate-income families who are scared out of their minds about how they will heat their homes this winter . 
we must crack down on price gouging in the short term and find other ways to lower prices . 
this is an emergency . 
it requires dramatic action by the government of the united states . 
in the long term , we should reduce our reliance on foreign oil by aggressively pursuing renewable energy sources , something that we should have been doing a long time ago . 
what we have here in this so-called `` gas act '' is more of the same : tax breaks to reward the bad behavior of oil and gas companies ; reduced regulations that compromise our communities ; and nothing , absolutely nothing , for the relief of our citizens . 
let me say to my colleagues who vote for this , do not go home and tell their constituents that they did anything for them because in truth they have not . 
when they ask them what did they do to lower the prices of gas and home heating oil , they can say honestly they did nothing . 
mr. speaker , i would urge my colleagues to support the stupak substitute , which will deal head-on with the issue of price gouging ; and if that fails , i would urge my colleagues to defeat this bill and to go back to the committee and do something meaningful . 
the status quo does not work . 
it is time for a comprehensive , honest-to-goodness energy plan , and this is not it . 
