[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 19, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H3676]]
                      PROMOTE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, 735,000 jobs; 735,000. 
That is the estimate of the number of jobs that will be created if the 
President gets to sign a comprehensive energy bill that reduces our 
dependence on foreign sources of oil.
  This body has done its part. Last August the Republican-led House 
with the support of the President passed the most comprehensive energy 
package this country has seen in decades.
  Unfortunately, our friends on the other side of the Capitol see 
things a little differently. They voted to ignore working families and 
some of their own supporters, and instead keep the status quo when it 
comes to America's dependence on foreign countries for our energy 
needs. That is too bad because most of our foreign oil comes from the 
Middle East, which is the least stable part of the world. This is the 
same Middle East which is the home to thousands of al Qaeda operatives, 
and this is the same Middle East that houses Saddam Hussein and his 
tyrannical dictatorship.
  Let us put that number, 735,000, in perspective. That number would 
equal one job for every person in the district I represent. I do not 
know about the other side of the aisle, but when I can vote to create 
one job for every citizen in my district, I will not hesitate to do so.

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