[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S. OIL PRODUCTION

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, NPR News this morning had a report about why 
gas prices are now over $2 a gallon in some States and headed higher 
everywhere. The reporter explained that while demand has gone up, as 
everyone has known it would for many years, capacity has gone way down.
  He said due to environmental restrictions, no new refineries have 
been built in this country for more than 20 years, and the number of 
refineries in California has decreased from 37 to 13. Also, radical 
environmentalists have successfully fought and stopped oil production 
in the frozen tundra of Alaska and most other places where it can be 
safely and environmentally and economically done in the U.S. 
Environmental extremists almost always come from wealthy, or at least 
very upper-income, families; but they are really hurting the poor and 
the lower income and working people of this country, and even our 
national security, by shutting down so much oil production and refining 
here and making us overly dependent on foreign oil that is being sold 
at rip-off prices.

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