[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2382-S2383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ENERGY SECURITY

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the need 
for an energy policy for our country. I have tried ever since I have 
been in the Senate to get us to plan ahead, to lead our country to be 
self-sufficient in our energy needs. Unfortunately, the disagreements 
have been too great and Congress has not been able to come up with a 
plan that could be signed by the President.
  Today we are not only talking about economic security, we are talking 
about something bigger, and that is national security. We must have an 
energy policy that begins to make our country self-sufficient because 
we can no longer allow 60 percent of our energy needs to be imported, 
especially from countries that may or may not be there for us.
  I do not know what it takes for the American people to get it. Iraq 
has just said they are not going to export oil for 30 days. The United 
States uses 1 million barrels a day from Iraq and the world market. 
Every time a country says they are not going to produce, it takes that 
oil out of the world market and increases the price of gasoline at the 
pump and the cost to every factory to stay in business.
  We are in a war. There is no question we are in a war on terrorism. 
We are in a war for the very freedoms on which our country was built. 
Religious diversity in our country has been the beacon in the world for 
tolerance and respect of people with different views. That has been 
attacked.
  We are in a war, and when we are in a war, it means we must make sure 
our underlying strength is everything we can make it. Part of our 
underlying strength is a ready supply of energy. We must have a stable 
price for the energy we consume in our homes, in our cars, and in our 
factories to keep the jobs in our country.
  We should have done this 6 years ago. We should have done it 4 years 
ago. We should have done it 2 years ago. But if we do not do it now, we 
are remiss in our responsibility as leaders of this country. The 
President has called on Congress to send him an energy package. We are 
debating an energy package that has been passed by the House. It is a 
balanced package. It increases production of oil and gas in our 
country. It has renewable incentives so that we will have wind energy 
and research into ethanol, soy fuel, and other products we can renew. 
It encourages the building of more nuclear powerplants which is a clean 
and safe energy. We will have more clean-burning coal.
  There are so many opportunities for us to become self-sufficient, but 
until we have an energy policy, we will not be self-sufficient and we 
will be beholden to countries, such as Iraq, that are already cutting 
us off as I speak. We cannot allow any country, even a supposed friend, 
to have a veto over our economic stability which, in turn, is a veto 
over our national security. We cannot allow it, Mr. President. If we 
do, we are not the leaders of our country that we should be.
  I am calling on the Senate to pass an energy bill. Even if it is not 
a perfect bill, we need to pass an energy bill. I do not like the bill 
the Senate is considering. It has some big problems. We are trying to 
straighten out those problems, and we have made some headway. Some of 
the amendments that have been adopted have improved the bill.
  When the price of gas at the pump goes up 14 cents in the last 14 
days, we cannot sit here and twiddle our thumbs. We cannot do it in 
good conscience. It is time for the Senate to get to work.
  There will be an amendment pending in the next 15 to 30 minutes. We 
need to complete that amendment and go to the next one. It is very 
important. Part of the bill will give tax incentives for the small 
drillers, the 15-barrel-a-day drillers, to stay in business so we will 
have stability if the price goes below $15 a barrel. These are small 
business people. They are not going to reopen a well if they do not 
have some floor to help them stay in business and avoid the cost of 
closing that well. That is the reason many of the wells, that were 
closed when prices were $11 a barrel, have not been reopened.
  If we can get all of the marginal wells pumping in this country, we 
will equal the amount we import from Saudi Arabia every day. If we 
drill in a very small part of ANWR, we can equal the amount we import 
from Iraq every day. That would be a significant step toward our 
stability.
  ANWR is an area the size of the State of South Carolina. Part of it 
has vegetation and is a wildlife preserve. The part we are talking 
about drilling is 2,000 acres, about the size of Dulles Airport. We are 
talking about the size of Dulles Airport and the State of South 
Carolina. I think sometimes when I hear the environmentalists debate 
this issue, they do not know about the new techniques for drilling. We 
do not drill all over an area anymore. We used to have an oil well 
about every 50 feet. We do not do that anymore because we have 
technology that allows us to go down lower and spread out to get the 
oil without damaging the surface at all.
  We are talking about a very small area that can be drilled, and it 
happens to be an area that does not have vegetation. Two- thirds of the 
year it is ice, and the road will not ever hit the dirt because it is 
an ice road. We will not harm the caribou. There was a study that came 
out from the Department of the Interior that indicated there would be 
harm to the caribou, but they were not talking about the bill we are 
going to address. The assumptions the Department made in the report are 
not in the bill that the House passed. It is a totally different issue. 
They assume we will be drilling in other parts of the refuge which we 
will not.
  We will be sensitive to the environment. We should also protect the 
national security of our country. We can do both. Do we want to protect 
jobs and security in America, or do we want to be beholden to foreign 
countries for

[[Page S2383]]

our energy needs which could shut down factories, lay off workers, 
cause lines at the gas pumps, and cause economic hardship in this 
country? That is our choice, and the choice is before us today: Are we 
going to choose to be self-reliant, like the greatest country on Earth 
at war, or are we going to rely on imports from countries that have 
already said they are going to cut us off? It is a no-brainer, Mr. 
President. It is a no-brainer. We must look out for the interests of 
America. If we are going to be the beacon of freedom in the world, this 
is part of our ability to protect that freedom.
  We can do no less than pass an energy bill, go to conference, and 
work out with the White House the differences we have. Let us put the 
partisan differences aside and let us make sure America has a balanced 
energy policy. This includes conservation, renewable energy, 
electricity deregulation, more production in our own country of oil and 
gas, and lessening the liability for nuclear powerplants, so we will 
once again be able to build nuclear powerplants for clean energy.
  The United States is not going to walk backward on protection of the 
environment. We will never do that. We are going to protect the 
environment, and at the same time we are going to protect the national 
security of our country, if we do the right thing.
  I hope my colleagues, who have come back from 2 weeks at home, have 
seen the prices rise at the pump, have seen the moms in SUVs who are 
taking their children to school in carpools saying: My gosh, I cannot 
afford to fill up my tank and pay $150; I cannot do it.
  No one says: Well, do not have an SUV. If they have five or six 
children and they are car-pooling, they are saving a lot of money 
because they are doing something that would take two cars to do. They 
are also looking out for the safety of their children by having heavier 
vehicles.
  The time is now. We have the opportunity to pass an energy bill and 
put one more piece of our homeland security in place. It is our 
responsibility, and I hope the Senate will step up to the plate and do 
the right thing.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Georgia is recognized.

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