[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3650-S3651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ENERGY PRICES

  Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, here we go again. We all know the Senate 
has limited time left this year to debate important legislation. It is 
becoming more and more clear the Democratic leadership is staunchly 
opposed to doing anything that would alleviate the seemingly endless 
upward pressure on energy prices. Given their unyielding desire to 
increase taxes on much of the energy industry, I can only assume the 
Democrats in Congress believe that steadily increasing energy prices 
simply provide political fodder upon which they can capitalize. 
Democrats in both Chambers appear beholden to the environmental agenda, 
a radical agenda that wholly disregards America's economy.
  Oblivious to prices at the pump and indifferent to from whom we 
import our oil, far-left environmentalists and their cohorts in 
Congress are failing in their duty to the American public. The Congress 
has stymied efforts to produce trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, 
trillions of barrels of oil, and prevented the construction of new 
refineries, nuclear powerplants, and hydroelectric facilities through 
public policies that limit energy supply. We cannot afford to take any 
option off the table.
  The security concerns of America and our businesses and consumers 
still demand energy. In oil alone, we consume over 20 million barrels a 
day. Since we only produce just over 8 million barrels per day, the gap 
must be made up by purchasing oil from hostile or undemocratic nations, 
such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria to meet our energy needs. 
We spend over half a trillion dollars each year importing foreign oil, 
and it is far past time to rectify this unhealthy dependency.
  The global price for petroleum reaches new highs every day and 
petroleum-related imports have caused our trade deficit to increase by 
billions of dollars.
  According to a study by the Congressional Research Service, in 2005 
and 2006 alone, our trade deficit rose by $120 billion. As oil prices 
continue to rise and domestic energy production is further obstructed, 
America's trade balance will only fall deeper into the red.
  As a Senator from energy rich Colorado, I am on the front lines of 
the battle to increase our domestic energy production. The Democrats 
continue to delay efforts to tap into a natural gas reserve below the 
Naval Oil Shale Reserve, often referred to as the Roan Plateau, that 
contains approximately 8.9 trillion cubic feet. We need this clean 
source of energy now.
  Moreover, below the vast lands of Colorado and Wyoming lies roughly 
1.5 trillion barrels of potentially recoverable oil. This amount dwarfs 
the reserves of Saudi Arabia and other petro-rich nations, and new 
technologies continually emerging would allow us to responsibly extract 
this oil to help meet our demands. The benefits to Colorado and the 
American economy would be tremendous.
  Additionally, national environmentalist groups have succeeded in 
pressuring Members of Congress to mandate a lock-down of what could be 
an immense treasure chest of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  In subverting the widespread local support of Alaskans and in 
prohibiting the potential extraction of 5 to 15 billion barrels of oil, 
environmentalists stubbornly resist even moving forward with 
comprehensive testing that could result in the environmentally 
responsible development of parts of the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  The U.S. Geological Survey announced this month that 3 to 4 billion 
barrels of technically recoverable oil exists under North Dakota and 
Montana's Bakken Formation. This is 25 times more than was estimated to 
exist in 1995. These numbers are staggering, and there are other 
examples where our aversion to responsible development defies common 
sense.
  Of course, we must continue our dedicated efforts to explore 
alternative sources of energy to meet our demands, but it is possible 
to develop sections of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, extract 
natural gas from the Rocky Mountain west and harvest resources offshore 
in economically feasible ways and also protect our natural wonders.
  We should not take increased production of any domestic oil off the 
table. The longer we completely deny access to domestic supplies, the 
more we exacerbate our current energy shortages.
  We cannot solve the problem of soaring gas prices facing America 
today with one solution, but we certainly

[[Page S3651]]

should not allow the relentless push of environmentalists' narrow 
agenda to make this crisis even worse. What will the average gallon of 
gas in America have to cost for the Democratic leadership in Congress 
to step to the plate with a comprehensive solution for our consumers?
  We should seek to develop our renewable resources along with oil, 
gas, clean coal, nuclear, and hydroelectric energy in a manner that 
prevents foreign interests from taking over energy for their own 
purposes.
  It is time for congressional leaders to be a part of the solution and 
not the problem. It is time to put every idea on the table. It is time 
for common sense.
  In the State of Colorado, we have a plethora of energy sources. We 
obviously rely on renewable energy because we have lots of sun and 
wind, we have hydroelectric, we have uranium to produce nuclear power. 
None of these or our rich resources in petroleum and coal that exist 
throughout the country should be taken off the table.
  For us to subject ourselves to a harsh extreme environmental agenda 
does not make sense. This country should continue to work to develop 
all of those resources. Obviously, the future of this country is on the 
renewable side, but we have to deal with today's problems, today's 
price at the gas pump, and therefore we need to produce domestic 
resources in addition to supporting the renewable technologies we are 
currently developing.
  If we do that, we will most successfully address the high cost at the 
gas pump today. Congress should be working with industry to make sure 
we have more plentiful supplies of gas and petroleum products in 
addition to developing other sources of renewable energy.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Tennessee is 
recognized.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Would you please let me know when 5 minutes has 
expired?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will do that.

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