[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 34 (Thursday, March 23, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E413-E414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OIL PRICE REDUCTION ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 22, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3822) to 
     reduce, suspend, or terminate any assistance under the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control 
     Act to each country determined by the President to be engaged 
     in oil price fixing to the detriment of the United States 
     economy, and for other purposes:

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I am an original cosponsor of the Oil Price 
Reduction Act. We simply must take some common sense steps to reduce 
the price of gas. In my district, which normally has some of the 
highest gas prices in the country, gas now costs over $2 per gallon. My 
constituents are hurting and need help.
  In its original form, H.R. 3822 would have allowed the Administration 
to halt arms sales to countries that are gouging American consumers by 
raising oil prices. But the House leadership has weakened the bill and 
now it only counsels diplomacy.
  I'm all for diplomacy and have encouraged the Administration to 
forcefully engage all the OPEC countries about this issue. But 
diplomacy has its limits. Simply put, this country should seriously 
reexamine our policy of selling arms to countries that seek to gouge 
American consumers and hurt our economy.
  And to add insult to injury, these are some of the same countries 
that American men and women risked their lives for in the Persian Gulf 
war. Today, thousands of dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen and women 
continue putting their lives on the line to keep Saddam at bay and 
these countries safe.
  I will vote for this bill, but we need to take a much firmer stance 
with the OPEC nations. For example, while the original bill would allow 
the administration to restrict arms sales, I might have gone further 
and required that arm sales be halted. Amendments to that effect won't 
be allowed in today's debate.
  In addition, I am very disappointed that the House is not going to be 
voting on other key issues to address high gas prices.
  I believe we should stop exporting Alaskan oil to foreign countries 
and I have cosponsored legislation to do that. While our gas prices 
have doubled over the last year, we send 60,000 barrels of oil a day to 
Asia. If not exported, this oil would go to the west coast. We should 
be voting to halt those exports and give American families the benefit 
of American oil.
  We should also consider proposals to swap oil out of the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. Making available oil from the SPR could offset the 
shortages produced by the OPEC countries production cuts. This would 
weaken OPEC's ability to unilaterally raise our gas prices.
  Finally, we should be aggressively developing renewable energy 
sources and alternative fuels. This would reduce our reliance on 
foreign fuels, while at the same time helping to preserve our 
environment.
  But we must also make sure we don't do certain things that would not 
lower the price of gas, but would reduce safety on our roads and 
threaten the Central Coast economy and environment.
  For example, some have advocated getting rid of the 4.3 cents federal 
gas tax. That won't help consumers who have seen a gallon of gas double 
in price. And it would cost California alone over $1.7 billion over the 
next 2 years in funds to build and maintain our roads and bridges. This 
funding has provided for the

[[Page E414]]

installation of call boxes on Highway 166 near Santa Maria and will 
support the widening of the dangerous Highway 46 near Paso Robles in my 
district.
  Others have advocated more oil drilling off the California coast. 
This would be a huge mistake--most of the oil there is for making roads 
and tar, not gasoline. And new oil drilling threatens to devastate the 
local economy and environment.
  Mr. Chairman, we need to take some serious steps to address high gas 
prices and I am deeply disappointed that the House will only be allowed 
to vote today on one, largely symbolic gesture. The American people 
deserve a lot more than that.

                          ____________________