[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       BIG OIL: USE IT OR LOSE IT

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the American people are looking for real 
energy solutions that will bring down prices at the pump. 
Unfortunately, all they are getting from Washington Republicans are 
more of the same old policies that are actually responsible for the 
high gas prices in the first time.
  The Republican solution is to open up more of our pristine land and 
our ocean to oil drilling. They neglect to say that Big Oil already has 
leases for 68 million acres that, for whatever reason, Big Oil refuses 
to explore. Experts estimate that these 68 million acres of leased land 
could produce about 4.8 million barrels of oil which would nearly 
double our Nation's total production.
  Why should we give Big Oil access to more of our land and water when 
they refuse to drill on 68 million acres they already have? And if 
drilling is indeed the answer to high gas prices, as my Republican 
friends always claim, why aren't they demanding that Big Oil start 
drilling on these lands?
  Mr. Speaker, this week House Republicans will have an opportunity to 
act on their rhetoric by supporting Democratic legislation that tells 
Big Oil to either use it or lose it.

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