[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 77 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1049-E1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 15, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4578) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in favor of the Sanders amendment 
to create a home heating oil reserve in the Northeast.
  As many of you know, last winter we had a severe oil crisis in the 
Northeast. Low temperatures combined with record high prices left 
thousands of Massachusetts residents struggling to pay enormous heating 
bills.
  Middle income families saw their utility bills triple while lower 
income families had to choose between heating their homes and feeding 
their children.
  Those of us who witnessed these hardships want to do all we can to 
make sure they never, ever happen again.

[[Page E1050]]

  The chill of winter may seem a long way off, Mr. Chairman, but 
heating your home is not a luxury. In fact, for many in the Northeast, 
it is a matter of life and death.
  By creating this oil reserve, we can help cushion oil prices from the 
shocks of inadequate supply and steep demand and, in doing so, prevent 
working families from suffering through such a drastic hike in prices.
  I thank Representative Sanders for his leadership.

                          ____________________