I must profess myself disappointed, Mr. Chairman. Throughout this process, we were led to believe that would take place in a bipartisan fashion. Yet we did not receive the Committee print on Monday night until a mere 7 minutes before the deadline. We have not held a legislative hearing on this bill; indeed, this committee print, excuse me, these committee prints, bear little resemblance to the committee prints we discussed two weeks ago. I say committee prints, because by separating this markup ... Read more

FY 2008 Defense Appropriations Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH), United States Army--$550.6 million This request is in support of the FY 2008 President’s Budget request for ARH. CV-22 Osprey, United States Air Force--$872 million This request is in support of the FY 2008 President’s Budget request for CV-22. Horizon Extension Surveillance Systems (HESS), Raytheon Company, McKinney, Texas--$7.2 million The HESS, a project within the Office of Naval Research, addresses short range Navy surve... Read more

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd also like to thank you for your willingness to work with the minority as we craft energy independence legislation. I'm pleased to see language in the draft covering a provision that I've been working on that would help to incentivize biodiesel. Reliance on foreign energy sources undermines our economy and our national security. Home-grown fuels, such as biodiesel, can help move the United States towards greater energy independence. Despite the energy security and cle... Read more

NEWS Burgess Statement on Immigration Deal “I find it earth shattering that the Senate would design legislation, behind closed doors, without input, and then plan to force it through both Houses of Congress. “This issue is of critical importance to all Americans, and certainly, to my constituents in North Texas. Yet, Members of both parties are still waiting for the bill to be introduced so we can actually read the language of the bill. “If the rumors are true, I will not support the bill. I do... Read more

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd also like to thank you for your willingness to work with the minority as we craft energy independence legislation. We've had a number of hearings over the last few months, including one on Smart Grid and another on the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program. The potential energy savings in a smart grid system are enormous. But we must be careful not to inadvertently establish policies that artificially slow deployment of these technologies. In Dallas, there is r... Read more

Video from the floor I have grave concerns about the Stupak bill, specifically regarding its lack of clarity in defining "unconscionable." I believe that this ambiguous term could lead to severe supply shortages in a time of emergency. Under this proposal, a gasoline station owner could receive civil and criminal penalties totaling $5 million and ten years in prison for charging "unconscionable" prices. Yet there is no clear definition for "unconscionable." To add insult to injury, if a gas sta... Read more

Today, U.S. Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) introduced H.R. 2454, legislation to encourage the manufacturing of cars that run on a 20% biodiesel-to-gasoline (B20) fuel mix. Right now, the United States imports nearly 60% of its oil and this number is expected to increase to 75% by 2010. Most of this oil comes from the Middle East and politically unstable nations such as Algeria, Nigeria and Venezuela. Reliance on foreign energy sources undermines our economy and our national sec... Read more

First, I want to thank the Chairman for convening this hearing today. I think the subject of high gasoline prices in an important one; indeed, my wallet is a little lighter every week after I fill up my car at the gas pump. This morning we are here to discuss gasoline price gouging. This is a topic we have considered in the Energy and Commerce committee in the past. Prices rose after Hurricane Katrina knocked a significant amount of this country's refinery capacity offline and some unscrupulous ... Read more

Mr. Chairman, this is probably one of the most crucial issues facing our country today. I firmly believe that America's energy security should be this committee's top priority. Home-grown fuels, such as biodiesel, cellulostic ethanol and coal-to-liquids, can help move the United States towards greater energy independence, and can even help to clean the environment. As we begin work on energy independence legislation, I look forward to working with the Chairman to include a provision that I'm wor... Read more

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about smart grid technology. The forces of supply and demand have long governed prices in a free enterprise system. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the electricity market. Consumers pay the same rate per kilowatt during the day, when demand is high, as they are in the middle of the night, when demand is low. This disguises the true costs of electricity and prevents consumers from adjusting their demand to the actual cost of electricity.... Read more