[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to 
progress on a critical nationwide initiative: American energy 
independence. Energy is a bedrock industry of the American economic 
machine. Energy fosters innovation and has seen substantial leaps in 
efficiency, which have led to a dramatic expansion in scale.
  To highlight the important progress our oil and gas producers have 
achieved, we need to look no further than my home State of Kansas, even 
just to think back to my childhood being raised up in Butler County, 
Kansas, which, during World War I, was the world's largest producer of 
oil.
  Kansas has long been known for our production in agriculture and 
aviation. It is the spirit of innovation that has pushed Kansans to 
utilize their vast and diverse energy opportunities. The Wheat State 
is, in fact, a top-10 State for crude oil production and has the 
Hugoton gas area, one of the top-producing natural gas fields in the 
United States.
  These factors give Kansas the opportunity to be a leader in the 
national effort to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, 
American energy exports now compete with Middle East oil for buyers in 
Asia. Daily trading volumes of U.S. oil futures contracts have more 
than doubled in the past decade.
  I was reminded of the size of the export opportunity this past week 
when I was in Mexico City in NAFTA discussions. With improved delivery 
systems and more efficient extraction methods, the United States is now 
exporting more than 1.7 million barrels of crude oil each day, with an 
increase of 11 percent expected by 2019. The economic impacts of 
increased United States output are encouraging to everyone in the 
industry who has fought through tough times with low crude oil prices.
  This expansion has shaved our Nation's oil imports by 20 percent over 
the past decade and provided 21st century careers in rural communities. 
Since the 2008 peak, we have lowered consumer prices for domestic 
gasoline by 37 percent.
  Just a few short years ago, no one would have imagined the United 
States could have increased production of oil and natural gas while 
still cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which are now near 25-year 
lows, yet we have. These advancements are evidence of the ingenuity of 
our producers. Further, they show that we have balanced energy 
production and environmental stewardship.
  For the first time in generations, American energy policy is focusing 
on domestic production, global leadership, and economic opportunity. 
And that is something worth recognizing.

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