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Protecting Florida’s Families, Economy and Environment:
Speaker Pelosi Works With Florida Democrats to Craft Comprehensive Energy Legislation
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September 11, 2008
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(Washington, DC) -- Representatives Boyd (FL-2), Brown (FL-3), Castor (FL-11), Hastings (FL-23), Klein (FL-22), Mahoney (FL-16), Meek (FL-17), Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), Wexler (FL-19) released the following statement regarding comprehensive energy legislation due to be considered in the House of Representatives next week:
Next week, the U.S. House will consider a comprehensive energy solution, one that both brings down gas prices in the short term and ends our national addiction to oil in the long term.
This is the energy plan America has been waiting for three decades. The sooner we take oil out of the equation, the better for our economy and national security.
Two years ago, Florida led the way by crafting a bipartisan compromise that expanded drilling off of Florida, but by doing it in a way that provides safeguards for our environment and our tourism based economy.
As the Democratic Florida delegation we stood united from the start. We worked hard to ensure that our 2006 promise to Floridians continues to be honored and that the coast of Florida remains under its own moratorium until 2022 and preserves the military’s ability to maintain its presence in Florida by protecting the military mission line.
Speaker Pelosi took the time to understand the fragile balance Floridians have between their energy needs, their economy, and their environment. The comprehensive energy legislation we will take up next week takes into account Florida’s needs and allows offshore oil drilling for states which choose to opt-in. It is a win for Florida and a win for the entire country.
The legislation is truly comprehensive. It has the potential to dramatically reduce gas prices by setting our country on a path to energy independence with real investment in clean energy technologies and tax breaks for individuals and business making smart energy choices.
In this package, we treat oil as a transition to the innovative technologies of the future, but it is only a transition. Congress has finally learned that we cannot continue to feed our oil addiction and remain competitive in the global economy.
We have always believed that the same American ingenuity that took us to the moon could solve our energy crisis, and this package provides the necessary incentives for our scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs to perfect the next generation of clean, affordable energy sources.
We thank Speaker Pelosi for working with Floridians in the crafting of a truly comprehensive energy package that places America’s working families ahead of Big Oil, moving our country in a better direction.
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