[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21352]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE LADIES OF THE GULF

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the second lady of the gulf named Rita came 
across the shore of Texas and Louisiana, howling her winds and bringing 
her thundering rain this past weekend. Like her sister storm, Katrina, 
she took aim at the low-lying towns and the energy capital of the world 
that is located in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
  Nine of the 26 refineries in Port Arthur, Texas, alone were shut 
down. These refineries in and around Port Arthur refine 27 percent of 
the Nation's gasoline. Sixty percent of the Nation's gasoline is 
refined from New Orleans to Corpus Christi, Texas. Offshore drilling 
rigs were also shut down, and the start-up time is still undetermined.
  Being a target in the hurricane alley, these refineries and oil rigs 
are vulnerable to nature. That is one reason why the United States must 
explore opening up new oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, off 
the coast of Florida, off the coast of California.
  This is a national security issue; and we must, with proper 
environmental safeguards, drill in these areas so that the energy does 
not cease because of the anger of the ladies of the gulf.

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