[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 118 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE ``CONGRESSIONAL REPLACEMENT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ENERGY-RESTRICTING 
         AND JOB-LIMITING OFFSHORE DRILLING PLAN'' (H.R. 6082)

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, domestic oil production is at an 18 year 
high, and President Obama's ``All of the Above'' energy strategy has 
reduced our reliance on foreign oil from 57 percent of consumption 
during the last year of the Bush Administration to 45 percent today. We 
now have 50 percent more floating drilling rigs operating in the Gulf 
of Mexico than we did before the BP oil spill--and more rigs operating 
in the United States than the rest of the world combined. The 
Administration's existing 2012-2017 offshore drilling lease plan makes 
more than 75 percent of our offshore oil and gas resources available 
for drilling, and the Interior Department reports that oil and gas 
companies already possess 26 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico 
containing 18 billion barrels of oil that have yet to be developed.
  Yet here we are for the eleventh time in the past eighteen months 
wasting valuable floor time on another drill bill that has absolutely 
zero chance of becoming law when our nation's fiscal cliff looms, and 
Americans are looking to their government for effective leadership so 
we can accelerate economic growth and put people back to work. These 
fundamental defects are further compounded by the conspicuous absence 
of any safety or royalty reform in this legislation, and the majority's 
insistence on gutting environmental review for the additional lease 
sales this legislation requires--including lease sales off the mid-
Atlantic coast as early as 2013.
  I support the responsible development of our nation's oil and gas 
resources as part of a comprehensive ``All of the Above'' energy 
strategy that emphasizes a greater use of renewables, efficiency and 
other clean energy sources over time. The forced lease sales in this 
legislation do not constitute responsible development, and the ``Oil 
Above All'' strategy advanced by the majority in this legislation and 
throughout this Congress is ultimately a prescription for energy 
dependence and economic decline.
  I urge a ``no'' vote.

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