[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION REAUTHORIZATION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 11, 2000

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives passed 
an important reauthorization bill, the Energy Policy and Conservation 
Act. This bill does a number of important things including 
reauthorizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but it does one thing in 
particular that is very important to Connecticut: it sets up a home 
heating oil reserve for the Northeast based on legislation Congressman 
Bernie Sanders introduced and I cosponsored.
  The bill calls on the federal government to create a 2 million barrel 
home heating oil reserve which could be released by the President when 
oil prices rise rapidly, when there is a disruption in supply or when 
there is a regional crisis like the cold snap Connecticut and other 
Northeastern states faced last winter. This will help our region deal 
with uncertainties in the market and will stabilize oil prices in the 
future.
  As we all remember this past winter, the average price of home 
heating oil increased by almost 50 percent in less than one month, and 
at its peak, the price of oil was double what it has been the previous 
year. Many of my constituents were in situations where they could not 
afford to fill their tanks to heat their homes. Some were choosing 
between eating their meals or heating their homes. We cannot allow that 
to happen in the future.
  The creation of this home heating oil reserve will prevent these 
disruptions and will provide more stability for my constituents who 
were forced to pay outrageously high prices to heat their homes, or 
worse, to make difficult choices between paying bills for food, 
clothes, doctor visits and heating their homes. It would give the 
Northeast a tool in combating the type of crisis we faced this winter, 
when low temperatures and high oil prices forced many people into a 
situation where they were unable to keep their homes warm for their 
families. It is imperative that the House and Senate retain this 
provision when they meet to develop a conference report on the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act.

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