[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11] [House] [Page 15866] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]DRILLING IS NOT THE ANSWER TO HIGH GAS PRICES--DEMOCRATS WORKING ON REAL SOLUTIONS (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, we cannot drill our way to either energy independence or to lower prices at the pump. The Bush administration's own Energy Information Administration says that opening up new areas for drilling would not affect production or prices for nearly 20 years, and even then it concludes that ``any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.'' So much for the Republican energy plan. In stark contrast, House Democrats have taken action and passed legislation that will make America more energy independent and help provide relief to Americans struggling with high gas prices. For the first time in 32 years, we passed a landmark law that will require more fuel efficient vehicles, which will produce nearly $1,000 in savings for the average American family at the gas pump. This is the kind of relief that my constituents in New Jersey want. Democrats also forced the President to stop sending oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and now we are standing and urging him to start releasing oil from the reserve. ____________________