[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         BENEFITS OF NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT FOR PENNSYLVANIANS

  (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, this week, I have shared 
multiple accounts of testimony delivered before the bipartisan Natural 
Gas Caucus during a field hearing last week in Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania. While I have discussed the extensive job growth and 
revenue increases for the Commonwealth, today I rise to share the 
benefits to property owners who have leases above the vast Marcellus 
natural gas play.
  Between 2008 and 2010, landowners in two rural, northern tier 
counties in Pennsylvania earned over $550 million. As of July 2013, the 
lifetime royalties for wells already drilled in these counties are 
projected to exceed $7 billion. Property values in these counties have 
increased to a level greater than 47 percent of the national average 
increase between 2006 and 2012, which was during the height of the 
recession.
  Perhaps most importantly, there are now, more than ever, greater 
prospects for future generations of Pennsylvanians. Natural gas 
development has allowed Pennsylvania's young workers to find high-
paying, family sustaining jobs in the Keystone State, where they can 
continue to live and build stronger communities.

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