[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 23, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1544-E1545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2008

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Energy 
Security Intelligence Act of 2008, H.R. 6545.
  Our Nation is in the middle of an energy crisis. Oil and gas prices 
are continuing to climb past $4 a gallon, and it is unlikely that gas 
will ever be cheap again. We will never be able to meet our domestic 
demand even if we drill on every square inch of our public and private 
lands. The United States possesses only 2 percent of the world's oil 
reserves, yet consumes over 25 percent of the world's oil. In order to 
meet our demand we import 22 million barrels of oil a day from some of 
the most volatile regions of the world. There is no denying that our 
national security is weakened by our dependence on foreign fuels.

[[Page E1545]]

  While it is intuitive that our reliance on the international market 
for our oil and gas supply has an effect on the stability of our 
economy and our national security, we do not have up-to-date 
intelligence information on what this dependence means to our national 
and global security. The legislation before us today would require a 
National Intelligence Estimate, NEI, of the long-term and short-term 
outlook for oil and gas prices, supply, and demand as well as an 
assessment of how our dependence on foreign fuels affects both our 
short-term and long-term national security. I would like to commend my 
colleague from Louisiana, Representative Don Cazayoux, for introducing 
H.R. 6545. This legislation would provide us with the information that 
we need in order to make informed decisions about the relationship 
between crude oil and natural gas prices and our national security.
  The National Energy Security Intelligence Act would also study the 
national security implications of potential use of energy resources as 
leverage against the United States by Venezuela, Iran, or other 
potential adversaries as a result of increased energy prices. One of 
the most damaging ways Iran could leverage oil prices higher would be 
to disrupt or even cut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. As 
chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, I believe it 
is essential that this NIE address Iran's ability to attack shipping 
and oil production infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region. Twenty 
years ago, Iran's efforts to disrupt shipping in the gulf led directly 
to a military confrontation between our countries. Published reports 
indicate that Iran has greatly expanded its sea mine stocks, its 
ballistic missile force, and other assets that could be used to disrupt 
oil production and shipment through the gulf. The NIE must address 
these issues if we are to have a full picture of Iran's potential to 
drive oil prices higher through military action. I support this bill, 
and I urge my colleagues to do likewise.

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