[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BOX SCORE ON IMPORTS OF FOREIGN OIL BY THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, the American Petroleum Institute reports 
that, for the week ending January 26, the U.S. imported 6,895,000 
barrels of oil each day, 5 percent more than the 6,550,000 barrels 
imported during the same period 1 year ago.
  Americans now rely on foreign oil for more than 50 percent of their 
needs, and there are no signs that this upward trend will abate.
  Since a barrel of oil is 55 gallons, this means that the United 
States purchased 379,225,000 gallons of oil from foreign countries this 
past week.
  Anybody else interested in restoring domestic production of oil--by 
U.S. producers using American workers? If the American people don't 
become concerned perhaps they had better ponder the economic calamity 
that will occur in America if and when foreign producers shut off our 
supply, or double the already enormous cost of imported oil flowing 
into the United States--now 6,895,000 barrels a day.

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