[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 113 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FREE AMERICA'S OIL

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, Americans all over the country want us to 
do something about gas prices, and every Member in this House wants us 
to do something about gas prices, too. The Republicans have one 
strategy. It would bring relief at the pump about 20 years from now, a 
couple of pennies a gallon. That's their approach.
  Democrats have a different approach. We want to free America's oil. 
We can release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We now have 
700 million barrels of oil in that. We don't need them. We can drive 
the price down in the market. We can force the gas companies, the 
energy companies, as we have tried to do already, to drill on the 68 
million acres worth of leases they already own to produce oil.
  Finally, we can open up the 23-million-acre Alaskan National 
Petroleum Reserve area where there are proven oil reserves and where 
they are eligible for drilling right now. We have the tools at our 
disposal immediately to drive down gas prices. We ought to take 
advantage of them.
  Free America's oil.

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