[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5672-S5673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    GAS PRICES AND NATIONAL SECURITY

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wish to begin my remarks this morning by 
quoting the distinguished junior Senator from Illinois, Senator Obama, 
who said recently:

       Our dependence on foreign oil strains family budgets and it 
     zaps our economy. Oil money pays for the bombs that go off 
     from Baghdad to Beirut, and the bombast of dictators from 
     Caracas to Tehran. Our Nation will not be secure unless we 
     take that leverage away, and our planet will not be safe 
     unless we move decisively toward a clean energy future.

  I would like to say to those comments from Senator Obama: Amen. He is 
exactly right. And so I would ask him: Why does he and our colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle continue to oppose domestic energy 
production that would reduce our dependency on oil from the Middle 
East?
  As this chart shows, restricted domestic production in the United 
States sends billions of dollars to the Middle East, where we purchase 
that oil, and to countries such as Venezuela in South America. When one 
of my constituents back in Texas goes to the gas station and fills 
their pickup truck, and it costs him $75 to $100, he is wondering 
perhaps where the money goes. Our colleagues would suggest it just goes 
to big oil companies. But the fact of the matter is, it is more 
complicated than that. I think the picture needs to be painted and the 
story needs to be told of exactly what our refusal to depend more on 
our own domestic resources, rather than depending, as we do 
increasingly, on foreign sources of oil, means to our national 
security.
  While taxes, refining, shipping, and marketing add to the cost of 
retail gasoline, 70 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is 
related to the cost of oil--crude oil. When the United States imports 
roughly 60 percent of the oil it consumes, the real profiteers of our 
dependence are the foreign nations from which we import.
  In 2007, the U.S. fuel bill on oil imports was about $330 billion, 
and some anticipate that figure will go to $400 billion this year. We 
should be investing more money in America to increase our domestic 
energy production and creating jobs right here in America as we work to 
diversify our energy mix and pursue alternative energy sources. 
Unfortunately, we send American dollars to foreign nations and energy 
cartels, such as Venezuela and Iran--nations that openly condemn the 
United States and the principles for which we stand and seek to 
undermine our national interests at every turn.
  Last year, in Venezuela alone, U.S. consumers spent an estimated $30 
billion on oil imports. We are all familiar with President Hugo Chavez 
and his thinly veiled threats and outlandish attacks on our country. 
But the money that is sent to Venezuela does not just empower the 
absurd talk of one man, it is helping him assemble a substantial 
military arsenal.
  These pictures show some of the things Hugo Chavez is doing with the 
money we are sending him as we buy crude oil: fighter aircraft, 
submarines, Kalashnikov assault rifles, air defense

[[Page S5673]]

batteries. As a matter of fact, Russia has agreed to actually create a 
factory in Venezuela for the production of both AK-103 assault rifles, 
and 7.62-millimeter ammunition at a cost in excess of $500 billion.
  In 2006 alone, Venezuela entered into multiple agreements with Russia 
for the purchase of numerous advanced Russian-made weapon systems. 
These transactions included, as I have depicted on this chart, these 24 
modern fighter-bomber aircraft at a price of more than $1 billion, 
numerous attack and transport helicopters at the price of $700 million, 
and an arsenal of these modern Kalashnikov assault rifles, which I 
showed a moment ago.
  Last week, Venezuela conducted a preliminarily agreement for its Navy 
to buy three Russian-made, improved Kilo patrol submarines--depicted 
here. This year, Venezuela accepted delivery of the first of several 
batteries of Russian-made Tor-M1 air defense systems, depicted on this 
chart.
  In 2005, Venezuela ordered nine Chinese-made mobile air radar 
systems, valued at $150 million. Earlier this year, the Venezuelan 
Government ordered six Austrian-made, multipurpose surveillance 
aircraft.
  But we should not delude ourselves into thinking that money only goes 
to the buildup of the Venezuelan military. Colombia--of course, right 
next door to Venezuela in South America--our strongest U.S. ally in 
Latin America, tells us Hugo Chavez has been supporting the FARC, a 
narcoterrorist organization, and enabling attacks on the people of 
Colombia. In fact, a laptop recently captured from a terrorist leader 
demonstrates Hugo Chavez's close ties with the FARC.
  The situation has prompted some in Congress to call for Venezuela to 
be put on our designated ``state sponsors of terrorism'' list. Clearly, 
the actions of Hugo Chavez and his accelerated militarization of 
Venezuela poses a significant threat to the stability of Latin America 
and to the United States because of its close proximity to our country.
  It doesn't just stop there. As we know, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad 
in Iran is enjoying all the money America is sending to him and other 
countries when they purchase oil, with a price tag now of $135 a 
barrel. We can't afford to forget that oil is a global commodity used 
by every country throughout the world, so money spent on oil imports 
from the Middle East or anywhere benefits Iran. Iran is continuing its 
effort to develop nuclear technology, depicted at these compounds in 
Bushehr and Natanz, depicted on these maps.
  It is clear that Iran has nuclear ambitions to build nuclear weapons 
to dominate the Middle East and, frankly, represents a threat to world 
peace. So money spent on oil imports from the Middle East or anywhere 
actually benefits Iran, and they use that money to pursue their nuclear 
ambitions.
  Iran is continuing its efforts to develop nuclear technology with the 
obvious goal of producing nuclear weapons. The last thing we need to do 
is to provide a steady stream of money to a man who openly pledges to 
``wipe Israel off the map'' and promises that the United States, along 
with Israel, ``will soon be destroyed.''
  Aside from Iran's very troubling nuclear ambitions, U.S. military 
commanders have seen very clear evidence of Iranian involvement of 
Iraq. We have heard from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker about 
Iran's attempts to destabilize Iraq. What is worse, we have heard 
reports of the Iranians training militias and ``special groups'' in 
Iraq, both of whom have been a major source of violence and instability 
there.
  Even more concerning, we have seen reports that Iran has been 
providing advanced improvised explosive devices called explosively 
formed penetrators that have been and continue to be used to kill and 
injure American soldiers in Iraq. As I have said, Iran has been linked 
to explosively formed penetrators used to kill American troops, and 
while these penetrators make up only a small percentage of the overall 
number of IEDs in Iraq, they generate a disproportionate share of 
American casualties.
  The short side of this story is that our dependence on foreign oil is 
bankrolling deadly weapons. The money we continue to send to the Middle 
East and to Venezuela does nothing but enrich or enemies. Why in the 
world, then, would we deny ourselves access to the very natural 
resources that would allow us to become less dependent?
  While Congress may not get it, it is clear that the American people 
get it. Rasmussen has just come out of the field with a new poll that 
says that 67 percent of the respondents support offshore drilling in 
America and 64 percent expect that it will lower gasoline prices. That 
is two-thirds of the respondents who believe offshore drilling should 
be allowed. Congress, of course, is the major impediment, having passed 
moratoria against production of oil from the Outer Continental Shelf 
since the early 1980s. Congress is the problem, and Congress needs to 
get out of the way and allow America to do what it does best, and that 
is to try to achieve less dependence on imported oil from our enemies.
  The short version of this story is that our dependence on foreign oil 
is bankrolling deadly weapons that are being used against our troops 
and even more advanced weapons systems that could one day be turned on 
us or our allies--countries such as Colombia. Soaring gas prices are 
not just a problem for the American consumer, they are a problem for 
the American soldier, sailor, airman, and marine. They are a problem 
for our national security. The longer we sit idle and do nothing to 
increase our domestic energy production, the more money we ship 
overseas and the more likely it is to empower the threatening actions 
of some of America's staunchest enemies.
  While Congress agrees about the importance of reducing our Nation's 
dependence on foreign sources of oil--indeed, that is what Senator 
Obama said in the quotation I read at the start--Congress has not yet 
acted in a way consistent with those expressed concerns or in a way 
which would improve not only our economic security but our national 
security as well. I appreciate the determination of Congress to pursue 
and encourage alternative energy sources and increased energy 
efficiency--and these energy policies will serve us well into the 
future--but what we must realize is that oil and gas is the bridge to 
that future. It is not economically responsible to bypass solutions 
that will increase energy supply and help bring down the price of gas 
at the pump. Americans are spending an additional $1,400 on energy 
costs just this last year, and the Department of Defense--perhaps the 
largest consumer of oil and gas in the country--spent $12.6 billion on 
fuel just last year.
  We cannot afford to keep filling the coffers of hostile, oil-rich 
nations such as Iran and Venezuela while we wait for alternative fuels 
to become a substantial and reliable source for our energy needs. We 
need a comprehensive and balanced energy policy that includes increased 
American energy production. We have raised fuel-efficiency standards, 
we have implemented a renewable fuels standard, we supported tax 
incentives for wind, solar, biomass, and energy efficiency appliances. 
Now we need to grow our domestic energy production by tapping into 
America's proven oil and gas reserves.
  If we can begin to produce more energy here at home, then we can 
begin to ease our minds about how rogue states, such as Venezuela and 
Iran, will be using those dollars to threaten us. We have all said on 
numerous occasions that energy security is national security, but I 
fear many of us have failed to realize exactly what that means. We need 
to recognize that our inaction is not only raising the burden on 
American families, it is growing armies and weapons that may one day be 
used against us. In the case of Iran, that money is already being used 
against our troops in Iraq through these explosively formed penetrators 
that have injured and literally killed American citizens.
  This is not an issue we can afford to take lightly. We all need to 
work together to expand American oil production in order to decrease 
the profits of sworn enemies of the United States and limit their 
militarization.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa is 
recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. May I ask how much time is left on this side?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is 15 minutes 45 seconds.




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