[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H5487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NO BAN EXISTS ON OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, there is no ban on offshore oil drilling. 
In fact, there are 33.5 million acres offshore leased to the oil 
industry from which they are extracting nothing and they are not 
developing. They say, well, they don't have the drill bits or they 
don't have the time or whatever. The Republicans say they need more 
leases.
  They don't need more leases. They need to develop what is out there, 
plain and simple. Think of the former Naval Petroleum Reserve. It is 
right up there in Alaska next to ANWR, 13.4 billion barrels of known 
reserves, drilled and capped by the oil industry, leased by Bill 
Clinton, not producing a single drop.
  But, oh, let's go to ANWR. There might be some there.
  Come on, guys. They are not developing what they have now. There is a 
20-year supply out there underneath their idle leases that could double 
our domestic production, and, plain and simple, they haven't developed 
it. Then when they are done with that, then we can have a debate about 
more leasing in other places.

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