mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman from new york for yielding me this time . 
i rise today in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill , h.r. 3893 . 
hurricane katrina highlighted the failure of the republican leadership 's first attempt to create a national energy policy . 
we now have a second chance to craft a forward-looking strategic plan . 
unfortunately , h.r. 3893 fails to do this . 
instead of tackling america 's very serious energy challenges , we are looking at the cast-asides from the earlier legislation . 
i therefore urge my colleagues to support the substitute . 
every american now clearly sees that our energy policy affects everything , from a family 's monthly budget to our national security . 
my constituents , like the other members , are paying over $ 3 a gallon at the pump . 
yet h.r. 3893 does not include price gouging provisions that would sufficiently protect american consumers , particularly when we have oil companies making as much as $ 80 million a day . 
we owe our constituents more than empty promises on high gas prices . 
and we can do this with the substitute . 
it gives the ftc real authority to investigate the energy supply chain . 
the substitute provides for significant fines that actually have the power to deter companies from gouging consumers . 
h.r. 3893 's shortcomings are not exclusive to its attempts at immediate relief . 
the legislation also fails to address our nation 's long-term needs . 
constructing new facilities would increase the nation 's capacity to process crude oil and soften the effects of future supply disruptions , but the oil refiners are not interested in incentives to do so . 
in fact , they have minimized capacity to maximize profit . 
again , congress has a responsible alternative : establish a strategic refinery reserve , a logical complement to the existing strategic petroleum reserve . 
this would give us the increased flexibility and control to respond to future energy disruptions . 
but this legislation fails to do that ; and worse still , it ignores the larger causes of our energy security . 
a forward-looking energy policy should curb our reliance on unstable foreign oil markets and accelerate research for alternative sources of energy . 
this bill takes only nominal steps toward that goal . 
there is an almost laughable $ 2.5 million for an education program and encouragement to federal agencies to buy energy-efficient light bulbs . 
this is not exactly the bold out-of-the-box thinking that will free the next generation from dependence on foreign sources of energy . 
congress needs to pause and examine our energy stance in a long-term strategic manner . 
we owe that to our children and our grandchildren . 
i urge my colleagues to vote against the rule and reject this opportunistic legislation . 
