[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CHANGE THE RULES ON OIL

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it has been 5 years since the 
gulf war, and we have done nothing to end our dependence on oil, 
foreign oil.
  Today the United States imports more than 50 percent of its oil from 
foreign countries, not because we want to, but because our laws have 
forced us to. When we mandate that all companies have to get 1,000 
permits and regulations to drill just one well, anytime we increase the 
regulatory cost by $37 billion, when we close off their access to oil-
rich land and when we support a destructive tax code that contains 
provisions like the alternative minimum tax, we are just asking for 
lost jobs and foreign dependence.
  Is it any wonder our oil companies have lost over 500,000 jobs since 
1972, closed half of their refineries and moved to Vietnam, China, and 
Russia?
  Mr. Speaker, we must change the rules to allow our oil industry to 
flourish, create jobs and provide a strong and secure America for us 
and our children.

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