[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO RESOLVE OIL CRISIS

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, first let me say the Federal Reserve has 
done a great job in keeping our economy strong and growing. 
Unfortunately, the Clinton-Gore administration's lack of a coherent 
energy policy threatens that very economic prosperity.
  As I speak, fuel prices around the Nation and around the world are 
skyrocketing as the price of oil tops $37 per barrel. Rising fuel 
prices affect every sector of the economy and eventually every 
American.
  Airlines are increasing fares; truckers, who deliver our food, 
medicine, and virtually everything else are straining to meet their 
contractual obligations and pay for fuel that is now costing an average 
of $1.62 cents a gallon. As consumer prices rise, consumer spending 
will decrease, leading to sluggish sales, larger inventories and slower 
growth.
  So, Mr. Speaker, what is the administration's answer to the pending 
crisis? Well, instead of using the 8 years they had in office to 
develop an energy policy which would have prevented this crisis, the 
Clinton-Gore administration squandered those opportunities and now is 
only offering last-minute solutions, like begging Saudi Arabia to 
increase oil production.
  For an administration that has not been ashamed to take all the 
credit for the current economy, I hope they do as much to solve this 
crisis than just admit, as they did in the spring, that they fell 
asleep at the switch.

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