[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 19386]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1010
                           SUPPLY AND DEMAND

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, a recent headline in the 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked about the scarcity of heating fuel, 
which sent prices through the roof. By contrast, the Philadelphia 
Inquirer reported on a drop in utility bills in the area due to 
Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania. Both are classic examples of 
such supply and demand.
  Heating fuel in Atlanta is fed, in great part, by the production of 
offshore oil and natural gas reserves from the Gulf of Mexico. 
Unfortunately, last week vast amounts of our own oil and natural gas 
reserves off the Atlantic and Pacific coast were placed off limits by 
the White House, limiting production and, as a result, supply.
  Secretary of the Interior Salazar, through regulation, not 
legislation, removed nearly all of our vast offshore oil and natural 
gas reserves from the production process. The result, not one barrel of 
oil or cubic foot of natural gas owned by other citizens will be 
produced until at least 2022.
  In Pennsylvania, recent development of Marcellus Shale natural gas 
has brought the opposite effect. A lower rate from the Philadelphia Gas 
Works will save the average customer almost $15 per month.
  The solution is obvious, and Congress should reclaim its jurisdiction 
over our energy future.

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