[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2664-2665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
             PENNSYLVANIA'S OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

  (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, Pennsylvania is the third-
largest natural gas producer in the Nation and continues to drive 
record-breaking oil and natural gas production. According to new data 
released by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 
last year shale gas production jumped 30 percent in Pennsylvania's 
Marcellus shale for a total of 4 trillion cubic feet, which is roughly 
16 percent of what the United States consumes on an annual basis.
  Mr. Speaker, communities in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional 
District have benefited greatly from the technological and the safety 
advancements that make natural gas readily available, and these 
benefits are not just limited to shale-producing areas.
  Families and businesses all across the country are seeing the rewards 
of shale gas energy produced by hydraulic fracturing. American 
households are enjoying increases in disposable incomes due to lower 
costs for energy and energy-intensive products. Mr. Speaker, this 
success has been made possible due to regulations administered at the 
State level, not by adding the bureaucracy of the Federal Government.
  As cochair of the bipartisan Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, I will 
continue to explore and promote best practices so that we can highlight 
the safety and positive economic impacts of natural gas.

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