[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11] [House] [Page 15338] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 1015 A START TO LOWERING GAS PRICES (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, this week the President took a small but important step to lowering the price at the pump for American families. Lifting his ban on Outer Continental Shelf energy exploration was the right thing to do, and I applaud him for it. Now, Congress must act. We can help increase American supply, lower the price at the pump, and create good American jobs. The ball's in our court. Will Congress listen to our constituents who are struggling with tough decisions about where and when they can drive? Or will congressional leadership remain beholden to environmental extremists? In Louisiana, energy production is done in a responsible way. After two devastating hurricanes, employees of our energy industry worked hard to get rigs back up and running knowing they were a very important part of our recovery efforts. OCS does not represent a magic bullet. However, it's one piece of a responsible comprehensive energy plan to lower the price at the pump. Innovative technology, better conservation, and new fuels are critical, too. So let's start all of them. What is holding us up? By harnessing all of America's vast resources and genius, we can give Americans, in the short term and long term, a good energy policy. Let's do the responsible thing. Let's have a comprehensive energy policy. ____________________