[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13422]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          LEFT OVER THE BARREL

  (Mr. OLVER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, the cornerstone of the Bush-McCain plan to 
lower gas prices is to open every acre of the Outer Continental Shelf 
between 50 and 200 miles offshore to oil leasing, drilling and 
production. That plan is a surefire failure.
  You can bet your house and your children's college education as well 
that the most promising areas would be leased for long terms at bargain 
prices, but there is no guarantee that those new leases would be 
producing a drop of oil even 10 years from now. That's been the 
history.
  The Minerals Management Service estimates 66 billion barrels of oil 
are recoverable on already-leasable areas of the continental shelf. 
Sixty-six billion barrels equals 10 years of America's need without any 
foreign oil at all. Yet less than a quarter of the area actually leased 
is in production. The oil companies are simply banking their cheap, 
long-term leases for future higher prices and profits. And we, the 
Congress and the country, will really be left over the barrel.

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