[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1321-H1322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IMPORTANCE OF DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an issue 
awfully important to Kansans and the

[[Page H1322]]

American economy. Yesterday, the Washington Post contained a front-page 
story on oil prices hitting the lowest level in 10 years. And while to 
many of my colleagues this may sound like good news, I would like to 
take just a moment to remind everyone that there are, as usual, two 
sides to every story.
  For the Kansas oil industry, this recent drop in prices is 
devastating and could result in substantial job loss for the State's 
oil industry. Most important, however, is the potential loss in 
infrastructure for domestic oil production in the future. Kansas 
produces over 40 million barrels of oil, and the oil industry supports 
around 15,000 jobs in our State.
  Historically, Kansas has produced almost 6 billion barrels of oil to 
fuel our domestic economy. But with the recent drop in prices of crude 
from about $16 a barrel to about $10.75, this industry is in danger. 
For Kansas, it is a simple proposition that it is not just the 
reduction in price but this means we are plugging wells that rarely are 
put back into production.
  Our dependence in this country on imported oil continues to grow. 
According to the Department of Energy, crude oil imports were over 7.7 
million barrels a day in the last 4 weeks. This has a tremendous impact 
on our balance of trade. And we must keep in mind that imported oil 
comes at a significant price. The United States spends over $250 
billion annually for the Department of Defense, with a large amount of 
those resources devoted to the Middle East.
  I am certainly a strong supporter of our Armed Forces and recognize 
the value of defense spending. However, when we are spending billions 
of dollars in defense money to protect imported oil, we might question 
what we are doing to protect the basic infrastructure of our domestic 
oil supply. At this time, it is clear that, while we will protect our 
international suppliers, we do little to protect or even to promote our 
domestic oil production.
  Mr. Speaker, the oil and gas industry has long been an important and 
fundamental sector of the economy of the United States. It is time that 
we in this Congress recognize that this industry is important and we 
work to ensure its survival for the future.

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