[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DRILLING IN ANWR

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, we are going to vote this week on an energy 
bill in the House. Energy independence should be a goal for this 
Congress. Worldwide demand for petroleum has increased during the last 
decade. The growth in production has been relatively flat.
  The inevitable result is higher prices at the gasoline pump. The 
reality is that it takes time to go from the oil patch to the gas 
station, and we have lost considerable time in that regard.
  In 1995, in the 104th Congress, H.R. 2491 would have allowed oil 
exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of 
Energy has estimated that between 1- and 1.3 million barrels of oil a 
day could be derived from this source.
  Unfortunately, this legislation was vetoed by then-President Clinton. 
That was 10 years ago, and given a timeline of 7 to 14 years for 
building the pipeline structure, it is time that we could scarcely 
afford.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been to ANWR. The vast coastal plain is 
unsuitable for habitation during the summer months because of its 
marshy consistency. Any caribou unlikely enough to calve in this region 
would likely die from exsanguination at the hands of the mosquitoes 
there.
  The people in ANWR, the people of Kaktovik, Alaska, are counting on 
this Congress to do the right thing and allow them, the rightful 
owners, to begin developing the resources as was granted them upon 
statehood in 1959.
  As we say in Texas, ``time's a'wasting.''

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