[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA MUST WORK TOWARD ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  (Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, on this historic fifth 
anniversary of the Persian Gulf war, the lessons seem clear: America 
must work toward energy independence. But, this Nation seems to be 
ignoring the lessons of the past and heading in exactly the wrong 
direction--toward over dependence on foreign energy sources.
  As leaders, we must make every effort to help America's oil and gas 
industry thrive. By helping the American oil and gas industry thrive, 
we will create new jobs, more revenues and increased national security. 
But we must unleash this strategic industry from its regulatory noose. 
Currently, instead of cutting down on bureaucratic regulations, the 
administration and some in Congress have proposed more than $14 billion 
in new industry regulations that would take effect over the next 5 
years.
  My colleagues on the House Resources Committee seem to understand 
these costs. Today, they will markup a bill, the Oil and Gas Royalty 
Fairness and Implication Act, that makes sense. It cuts through the 
bureaucracy and provides certainty, simplicity, fairness and efficiency 
in royalty collection. This is something that industry and the 
administration can agree on. I hope we can too.
  It is time to free America's oil and gas industry from over 
regulations so that this Nation can be free from its foreign oil 
dependency.

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