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 .  