[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 93 (Friday, June 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2311) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose drilling of any kind 
beneath the Great Lakes and urge my colleagues to support the Bonior 
amendment.
  Visit Minnesota's North Shore and you will immediately know why.
  Lake Superior is a constant source of wonder. It helps shape our 
landscape and climate, it supports our economy and it enhances our 
quality of life.
  Mr. Chairman, water is a precious resource in my state. We have over 
10,000 lakes. Lake Superior, of course, is the most identifiable of 
Minnesota's lakes, its familiar wolf head shape visible from outer 
space.
  Did you know the greatest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior) is over 
31,000 square miles, the same size as the entire state of Maine? Lake 
Superior also holds more fresh drinking water than all the other Great 
Lakes combined--Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and four Lake 
Erie's.
  Each year, millions of people from all over the world visit the lake 
in Minnesota for sightseeing, fishing, scuba diving and boating.
  Lake Superior is also important to the economies of Minnesota and the 
entire Upper Midwest. Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin make up 
the busiest international inland port in America.
  Our lakes, especially Lake Superior, are not isolated.
  We are a part of a great chain of lakes. What happens in one lake 
does have an impact in all of the Lakes.
  Mr. Chairman, the Great Lakes provide over 35 million people with 
their fresh drinking water. These lakes constitute twenty percent of 
the Earth's fresh water, 95% in the United States.
  Why would anyone put our nation's largest source of fresh drinking 
water at risk?
  Data from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality shows that 
only 28.5% of one day's consumption of natural gas and 2.2% of one 
day's consumption of oil in the United States has been produced. Not 
enough for even one day has been produced in over 20 years.
  The House last week wisely stopped the President's proposal to drill 
off the shores of Florida and in our national monuments. The Great 
Lakes are no less important.
  I oppose drilling of any sort for oil and natural gas beneath the 
Great Lakes. Not because we do not need to find additional resources. 
We do. These lakes are just too vital to too many families and it's not 
worth the risk.
  We are making progress in using energy more efficiently and reducing 
our reliance on oil and natural gas through energy efficiency 
technology and conservation. We must make bigger investments in current 
programs. Investments don't have to cost money either. We can and we 
must reduce our consumption by supporting wind and solar power and 
renewable fuels like ethanol.
  Future generations depend on us not to jeopardize our nation's 
greatest natural resource. An oil spill or any related disaster on the 
shores of a Great Lake would impact the fresh drinking water for 35 
million people. And for what? Less than a day's worth of oil and 
natural gas.
  The Great Lakes are important to this nation. They are important to 
my state and to millions of families. They have been crucial in the 
historical and economic development of our communities and they 
continue to play a significant role in Minnesota, the nation and the 
world.
  I urge my colleagues today to protect the drinking water of future 
generations. I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment.

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