[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 118 (Thursday, July 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        BIG OIL IS NOT DRILLING

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Back when George Bush was elected in 2001, gas was $1.48 
a gallon, and we imported 52 percent of our oil. Today, gas is $4.39 a 
gallon in my district, and we're importing 58 percent of our oil. In 
the meantime, what's been done?
  Well, we adopted the Republican energy plan, formulated in secret by 
Dick Cheney--yet another oilman along with George Bush--and some people 
say, Well, it's not working. I think it's working. Record profits for 
the oil industry and their friends, $551 billion since George Bush took 
office and more dependence on imported oil from Saudi Arabia and other 
friends of the President.
  We need a new energy policy in this country, and we're striking out 
in that direction. We've already passed new mandates for fuel 
efficiency. We tried to move us towards renewables. But we need some 
interim supply. That's why we have the DRILL Act up today. We need 
interim supply, but Big Oil is sitting on leases that can access 80 
percent of our estimated reserves in Alaska and the Outer Continental 
Shelf, and they're not drilling it.




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