[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 30 (Thursday, March 16, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E329]]



                        ASTRONOMICAL GAS PRICING

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2000

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue my critique of the 
Clinton-Gore Administration's role in the recent surge in gasoline and 
home-heating oil prices. Yes, Mr. Speaker, the Administration must 
shoulder much of the responsibility because they ignored the ``two 
D's''--domestic production and diplomacy.
  The United States imports around 55% of its petroleum requirements 
largely because it is so difficult to produce petroleum in this 
country. Mr. Speaker, the Administration imposes serious limits on 
exploration, drilling and refining oil through a Byzantine permitting 
and regulatory scheme. These regulations force many facilities to shut 
down when oil prices are low and make it uneconomical to reopen when 
prices rise.
  This takes us to the second D--diplomacy. The Administration knew one 
year ago that these prices were coming down the pipeline. 
Unfortunately, Energy Secretary Richardson was preoccupied by a major 
spy scandal at DOE--as he himself said on February 16th, ``It is 
obvious that the federal government was not prepared. We were caught 
napping. We got complacent.''
  The Administration was unable or unwilling to convince our friends in 
OPEC and other oil-producing countries to keep the spigot turned on. It 
is this lack of effort that brings us to where we are today--gasoline 
prices racing towards $2.50 a gallon.
  The only thing that saved our seniors in the Northeast from freezing 
recently was the arrival of warmer weather. Now those living on fixed 
incomes will face exorbitant prices at the gas pump. That is the legacy 
of Clinton-Gore.
  Mr. Speaker, I give this Administration's ``two D's'' and an ``F.''

                          ____________________