[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           DRILL NOW IN ANWR

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. I just returned from the Middle East. I went with a 
bipartisan group to Saudi Arabia, to the United Arab Emirates and to 
Kazakhstan and talked to the folks who have oil about what we can do 
internationally to bring the price down, bring the supply up, do 
whatever it takes to give middle class Americans some relief at the gas 
pump. It was interesting the response that I got.
  Number one, I can tell you without question the Middle East is happy 
with the current gas prices. We all know that they are enjoying the 
wealth which we are transferring over there. But the thing that they 
said to us, How dare you come to Saudi Arabia, how dare you come to the 
United Arab Emirates, how dare you come to Kazakhstan and ask us to 
reduce our prices when you won't even drill for oil yourself. You won't 
even build refineries. Yet you want us to do something. You can do it 
for yourself.
  Think about this, ladies and gentlemen. ANWR, the Arctic National 
Wildlife Reserve, is the size of South Carolina. The proposed drilling 
area is 2,000 acres. That is smaller than the average airport. Yet, for 
some reason, we are afraid to drill there. That is absurd. We need to 
drill now.

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