[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                       A CONTINUING ENERGY CRISIS

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the energy issue we 
have before us. Remember back in 1973, when we had long lines at gas 
pumps? People were very upset. We engaged in a desperate effort to 
reduce our energy consumption and to do a better job of using our 
resources, but once the crisis was over, we forgot about it. Today we 
are facing a similar situation. If we do not get control of it, once 
again we will have long gas lines and high prices.
  It is very important for us to remember a few things. Let me just 
speak as a physicist for a moment.
  Energy is hard to understand. It is intangible. We cannot see or 
touch it. But two important things we have to remember throughout this 
crisis.
  Number 1, energy is our most basic natural resource. Without energy, 
we cannot use any other natural resource. We cannot dig iron or copper 
out of the ground. We cannot smelt it or fabricate it unless we have 
energy. Energy is crucial to our economy.
  The second major point to remember is that energy is our only 
nonrecyclable resource. We must conserve energy. Once we use it, it is 
gone. We cannot consume all our resources and just assume the problem 
will go away.

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