[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 84 (Thursday, June 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H4504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         AMERICAN ENERGY NEEDS

  (Mr. MURPHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, this summer Americans are facing record-high 
prices for gasoline. There are some who think we can lower prices by 
diverting oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is 
shortsighted and wrong. Not only would releasing oil have a short-term, 
negligible impact on prices, it would wipe out our reserves, leaving us 
vulnerable to terrorist attacks targeting pipelines and oil 
transportation.
  In 1973, America was 30 percent dependent on foreign oil. Today that 
number has doubled to an all-time high of nearly 60 percent.
  We must develop a three-point plan to stop this dependence and lower 
fuel prices. We can start with conservation. Fuel-efficient vehicles, 
decreasing energy use in Federal buildings by 20 percent, and improved 
incentives for conservation products will help reduce energy demands.
  We must diversify our energy sources. Our own coal reserves can 
provide hundreds of years of energy and clean-coal power plants can 
alleviate environmental concerns with older plants, and we can make 
better use of nuclear energy, which currently provides only 20 percent 
of the Nation's electricity.
  We must explore more domestic sources. The resources are here, along 
with environmentally sound ways to tap into them. There are 16 million 
acres in ANWR and proposals to drill there would include only an area 
equivalent to the size of a hand on a football field.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that we move forward on these issues to help with 
our energy needs in the future.
  High fuel prices and a dangerous dependence on foreign oil are a 
problem for all Americans. It adds costs to fuel and goods. We cannot 
afford to let this become a partisan issue, nor should we engage in 
shortsighted solutions that in the end are not solutions at all.
  We need to solve the energy problems for the American people. That 
future must be our priority.

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