[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMISTS NEED TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY OF DRILLING FOR 
                                  OIL

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, experts are now predicting that gas prices 
will soon go to $2 a gallon or perhaps even higher. This sudden big 
rise in gas prices is hurting lower income and working people most of 
all. It will hurt small towns in rural areas because their people 
usually have to drive further distances to work. It will hurt tourism 
and agriculture and trucking, and mean higher prices for airline 
tickets. The saddest part of this whole scenario is the Congress could 
easily keep this from happening.
  The U.S. Geologic Survey estimates there are 16 billion barrels of 
oil in less than 1 percent of the coastal plain of Alaska. There are 
billions more barrels offshore from other States, yet environmental 
extremists do not want us drilling for any of this oil even though it 
could be done in an environmentally safe way. These extremists almost 
always come from wealthy or upper-income families and perhaps are not 
affected that much when prices go up and jobs are destroyed. Some of 
these environmental extremists even think it would be good for gas 
prices to go even higher so people would drive less.
  If we allow gas prices to go much higher, Madam Speaker, millions of 
people, including millions of children, are going to suffer greatly.

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