madam chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time .  this bill , first and foremost , should be rejected by this congress , because it is very bad for the consumers , it is a very bad deal for the taxpayers , it is lousy for the environment , and it certainly does not do much for the american economy .  this bill is another missed opportunity to take america into the future , to take america into the leadership around the world in energy production , energy innovation , and energy technology ; to create a new generation of important products , and a new generation of jobs .  but what this bill does not understand is that energy sufficiency and sustainability is very different from energy oil independence .  the first is achievable in the national interest and the other is not .  oil independence is not achievable in this bill or in any bill you can bring to the floor .  if we were really seeking to strengthen america 's hand with respect to energy and our economy , we would do all that is possible to develop a national sustainable energy policy that would minimize our dependence on foreign oil .  that is not this bill .  rather than placing too much of our emphasis on new oil supplies , we would build a national energy policy that is based upon the strength of our country , rather than its weaknesses .  those strengths are the marketplace , innovation , technology , and capital .  if these economic forces were truly unleashed to provide a national energy policy , the role of coal and oil would be greatly diminished and would still be important , but diminished .  america 's energy policy would evolve into one where business decisions , capital allocations , research commitments , and environmental policy would coincide to make businesses more efficient and productive , develop new products and services , would expand and cover the environment , would be easier and less expensive and clean .  such a policy demands a synergy of most parts of national energy policy .  to date , these ideas have been treated as a stepchild , as they are in this bill .  to do so , the congress would have to stop thinking about energy policy as an extension of the past .  they would have to think about it as going out to embrace the future , with american technology , american ingenuity , american talent , american capital , and the american marketplace .  america should go out and embrace the future , rather than dumping billions and billions of dollars into trying to bring the past a little bit further forward , to bring the fossil fuels a little bit further forward .  that is the mistake of this bill , that is the tragedy of this bill , and that is the missed opportunity .  that is the reason why this bill does so little for the consumer .  in fact , it harms the consumer at the pump by increasing the price of gasoline .  that is why it is such a bad deal for the taxpayer , because the taxes are used for old production , for old ideas , not for innovation , not for the future , and not for a sustainable energy policy .  that is why it is so bad for the environment , because they use tax policy to drive environmental decisions that otherwise would not be made and , of course , that is why it is bad for the economy , because it continues our dependence .  in fact , it drives us deeper into the dependence on the most unstable countries in the world , into the hands of those countries that simply can not provide stable environments for the production of those energy resources .  that is why a different policy would be about a sustainable energy policy , not trying to achieve oil independence , or foreign oil independence as this bill does .  it is unfortunate , because what we do is we miss the opportunity to bring about what the best and the brightest prospects of america have always offered , and that is new innovation , new technologies , new discoveries , new capital formation , and a new economy .  but this bill does not do it .  this bill resides in the past century .  this bill resides with the old industries .  this bill resides with the old ideas , and it certainly resides with the old and tired subsidies that milk the taxpayers , to turn around and give them to now the most profitable companies in the american economy at this time .  it is very unfortunate , and it should be rejected .  