But the United States is becoming increasingly reliant on foreign oil. We now depend on foreign sources for 56 percent of our oil needs, and we are heading to 60 percent within five years. This is cause for alarm, especially when you consider that some of the world s leading oil producing countries are politically unstable or do not have the best interests of the United States at heart. For example, last year, we imported over 8 percent of our oil from Iraq. That s crazy.
Oil has important implications for our national security.
Because oil is the life blood of our economy, it must be reliable, affordable and predictable. Relying completely on others to supply it can present dangerous consequences for our prosperity and our way of life. During this winter, home heating oil prices doubled in the Northeast. As Secretary Richardson himself admitted, the administration was caught napping during that price jump. It seems that few people view our reliance on foreign oil as a problem until prices are raised.