[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H2877-H2878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRESS, THE ADMINISTRATION, AND INDUSTRY MUST WORK TOGETHER TO 
        PROVIDE STABILITY TO OUR DOMESTIC OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION

  (Mr. BREWSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BREWSTER. Madam Speaker, domestic oil and gas production is 
critically important to our Nation's economy and national security. 
Just 5 years after fighting a war in Iraq, our Government has yet to 
take a single substantive step toward reforming restrictive regulations 
on our domestic energy industry.

[[Page H2878]]

  Since the gulf war, our dependence on Middle Eastern oil has grown to 
the point where more than half of our country's oil and gas consumption 
is from imports. We cannot allow this situation to continue.
  Working together, Congress, the administration, and industry must 
pass and enact legislative and regulatory initiatives which will 
provide stability to this extraordinarily important segment of our 
Nation's economy.
  As you know, U.S. relations with our Middle East oil trading partners 
historically have been unstable. However, the United States does have 
at least one reliable trading partner. Petroles de Venezuela, the owner 
of Citgo, has been supplying oil and product to the United States for 
70 years--through World War II and the Arab oil embargo.
  While maximizing our domestic resources, we should also encourage 
trading with reliable neighbors and allies such as Venezuela.

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