WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, today supported the Comprehensive American Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act that combines expanded oil drilling with a comprehensive, clean renewable energy and efficiency approach. The bill passed on a vote of 236 to 189:

“The Comprehensive American Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act is a forward-thinking piece of legislation that begins to lower prices for consumers, creates good-paying jobs here in America, and protects taxpayers. By ending unnecessary subsidies to Big Oil companies earning record profits, this bill will reinvest them in clean, renewable energy. This compromise energy bill will continue to put America on a path towards energy independence while bringing prices down at the pump.

“Congress took an important step down a path of freeing our dependence on foreign oil by passing a comprehensive energy bill that provides for expanded responsible oil drilling, while continuing to invest in renewable sources of energy. This important piece of legislation builds upon a historic energy bill passed last year that not only made crucial investments in alternative energy, but also raised CAFÉ standards for the first time in decades.”