[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 24, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H5874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EXPLORE AVAILABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, let's talk about being put over a barrel of 
oil. In 2001, a barrel cost $23. When this majority came in, it was at 
$58, and now it is over $136. The trend line is bad.
  I don't understand why we want to limit our ability to explore all 
the available energy resources. Why not go after the leases we have. 
Why not open new leases. Why not go in the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge. Here is the OCS, off-limits by our mandate. We did it. The 
Congress said we can't go on the west coast. The Congress said we can't 
go on the east coast, and the Congress said we can't go on the east 
gulf. That is foolish at today's prices.
  Let's use America's natural resource of coal. In Illinois alone, we 
have as much Btu as Saudi Arabia has in oil. Let's encourage coal-to-
liquid technologies. Let's use solar and wind, and all of the above 
energy sources, man-made energy resources with American energy and U.S. 
jobs.

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