[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                          ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  (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, the Congressional Research 
Service, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, recently issued a 
report confirming a startling trend over the last 5 years: the amount 
of oil and natural gas being produced in this country is down on 
Federal lands and up dramatically on private and State lands.
  The 1.1 million barrels per day increase in oil production from 2007 
to 2012 that continues to make national headlines did not come from our 
national Federal lands. The boom in shale gas production that's 
providing unprecedented economic opportunities across my district and 
continues to make national headlines did not come from Federal lands. 
In fact, Mr. Speaker, natural gas production climbed 40 percent on 
State and private lands, while falling about 33 percent on Federal 
lands.
  America's energy resurgence is before us today due to the innovation 
of our private sector, hardworking American men and women from all 
walks of life, but their efforts are hindered by the actions of this 
White House, as demonstrated by these figures.
  With what has been accomplished by private individuals on privately 
held lands, just think how much sooner America can be energy 
independent if this administration joins this effort.

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