[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 97 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Menendez):
  S. 3133. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish 
an annual production incentive fee with respect to Federal onshore and 
offshore land that is subject to a lease for production of oil or 
natural gas under which production is not occurring, to authorize use 
of the fee for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Responsible 
Ownership of Public Land Act. I thank my friends Congressmen Rahm 
Emanuel, Ed Markey, Maurice Hinchey, and Nick Rahall for their 
leadership on this issue in the other chamber. With the issue of oil 
and gas prices at the forefront of our national consciousness, this 
bill is timely and critically needed.
  As gas prices across the Nation soar to shocking, unprecedented 
levels, we can all agree that the time has come to end our dependence 
on oil. But that can't happen unless we also commit to something the 
Bush administration and its allies in Congress have refused to:
  End our dependence on the oil companies--on letting them hold the 
American people and economy hostage to rising prices that have no end 
in sight.
  In my home State of Connecticut, a gallon of regular unleaded 
gasoline today reached $4.36. That is an increase of 41 cents from just 
a month ago--and $1.12 from only a year ago. For reasons that 
economists seem at a loss to explain, my State today has the second-
highest gas prices in the Nation. It seems that every single day we 
turn on the television or open a newspaper, we hear about new records 
being set for the price of a barrel of oil or how much people are 
paying at the pump.
  The rising price of gas only begins at the pump. It is also causing 
prices to rise at the grocery store and elsewhere. Wherever they go, 
families are feeling economic pressure like never before--finding 
themselves forced to make difficult decisions and cut down on spending 
in other areas simply so they can afford to commute to work or take 
their kids to school. Too often they are forced to choose between food, 
gas, utilities, and lifesaving medications.
  In my view there are many things we need to do to address this 
pressing issue. In the long term we need to develop clean, renewable 
energy sources that will alleviate our dependence on foreign oil that 
often comes from unstable, hostile regimes and create new green jobs 
here at home. But in the short term, we need to take steps to help out 
families who are hurting and angry and need relief.
  One idea we hear time and again from President Bush and his 
Republican allies is that the answer to our energy problems is to open 
up environmentally fragile areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 
to more drilling. In response, I would point out that there are already 
44 million offshore acres that have been leased by oil companies, who 
have only put 10.5 million of those acres into production. Of the 47.5 
million onshore acres under lease for oil and gas production, only 13 
million are in production.
  Combined, oil and gas companies hold leases to 68 million acres of 
Federal land and waters that they are not producing any oil and gas on. 
This is compared to the 1.5 million acres that make up ANWR that 
proponents of drilling there would like to see opened up. Instead of 
putting pristine wilderness in grave peril, these companies should 
first be producing on acres already under lease. The vast majority of 
oil and natural gas resources on Federal land are already open for 
drilling and are not being tapped, and the oil and gas resources 
available in the unused land under lease far outstrips what is 
available in ANWR and other areas closed to drilling.
  Therefore, I am offering this legislation as a solution to this 
problem--a production incentive fee for acres under lease that are not 
in production. This fee would rise with the number of years the land 
has been under lease but not used. The revenue raised by these fees 
could be used to fund the development of clean, renewable energy, 
energy efficiency, and programs such as LIHEAP that help families 
struggling with sky-high energy prices.
  Over the last 8 years, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and 
their allies in this body have done all they can to block any progress 
toward energy independence. They have belittled and undermined policies 
and technologies that, had they been adopted, would have helped 
consumers avoid the deplorable situation they find themselves in today.
  As a result, American families are now at the mercy of foreign 
dictators, market speculators, and big oil companies reaping enormous 
profits--the largest profits in corporate history.
  As a result, every time the price of a gallon of gas reaches a new 
record, Americans are the ones paying the price of this 
administration's inaction.
  It is time to end our dependence on the oil companies. This bill 
would start that process by saying the time has come to put the 
American people first.
  It is my hope that with the introduction of the Responsible Ownership 
of Public Land Act, we can begin again to work toward delivering the 
kind of change American families are desperate for. I ask that my 
colleagues join me in supporting this commonsense effort to responsibly 
address the Nation's desperate energy needs.
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