[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GULF OF MEXICO ENERGY BILL

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to comment on S. 
3711, the Gulf of Mexico energy bill. I believe this legislation 
strikes an appropriate balance between our need for new sources of oil 
and natural gas, with the concerns of the coastal States.
  I do support passage of S. 3711, but I do not support the bill passed 
by the House of Representatives earlier this year. The careful 
compromise that is the Senate bill cannot be found in the version 
passed by the House. I will not support any legislation that opens 
South Carolina's coast to drilling for oil.
  I am supporting the Senate bill, but I wish that it went further to 
address our energy dependency issues. According to the International 
Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, the world's demand for energy is expected 
to double in the coming years. This should be a call to intensify our 
efforts to become energy independent as soon as possible. We must 
continue to fund research into alternative sources of energy such as 
hydrogen. Where suitable we need to use solar power and potentially 
wind. We must expand production of ethanol beyond corn so that all 
regions of the country can produce ethanol efficiently.
  As a cochair of the Senate Manufacturing Caucus, I voted for this 
legislation to increase our supply of natural gas for manufacturers. 
According to a study by the Congressional Research Service, 24 percent 
of our natural gas is consumed to generate electricity. While it is 
very easy to generate electricity from gas, it is a very inefficient 
use of the resource. Instead of electricity generation, natural gas 
should be utilized for industrial and home heating use.
  For electricity generation, we need to continue encourage a 
renaissance in nuclear power. This involves reducing the regulatory 
redtape involved in constructing new plants, opening Yucca Mountain, 
and proceeding with spent nuclear fuel recycling. Nuclear power is an 
efficient zero-emission source of energy that can address both our 
energy and climate concerns.
  I applaud the ongoing work of Senator Domenici and others to help 
increase the supply of critical energy resources. This bill is a small 
step in the right direction, and I look forward to working to further 
this effort beyond what we are accomplishing today. I also encourage my 
colleagues in the House that if they are truly serious about passing a 
bill to increase the supply of natural gas and oil this year, S. 3711 
needs to be passed by the House as soon as possible.

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