Date: 1981-12-10
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. Mr. President. if I have any time left I applaud the suggestion that PItesldent I yield It to Mr. BENTSEN. Reagan Is Considering cutting off U.S. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Imports of Libyan oil. Like all responsible objection. it is so ordered. citizens. I am concerned at reports that Libyan assassination. team may be stalking our President or other high RECOGNITION OF SENATOR Government offlcials Libya Is interna- BENTSEN tional terrorisms No. 1 supportera The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the thug nation that siphons off billions of previous order. the Senator from Texas dollars in oil profits each year to eicour- is recognized for not to exceed 15 age assassinations. chaos. hijackings. minutes. mayhem. and the murder of Innocent Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. President. Iyield civilians aroumd the worll It is high 3 minutes to the Senator fro4 Illinois. time that the American people.be freed Mr. DIXON. I thank iy friend. the. from underwriting the mad designs of Senator from Texas. the Libyan dictatorship -eshecially to the tune of nearly $6 billion annually. At present approximately 8.percent of THE PATCO STRIKE our oil imports are from Libyaan Mr. DIXON. Mr. President. I would amount comparable to our Iranian oil like to call the attention of my colleagues Imports when the Shah fell. Unfortu- an editorial from the New York.Times of nately. the United States today enjoys December 6. a.column og William Raspthe flexibility of seriously considering berry. from the Washington Post of De. cutting off Libyan oil imports only be- cember 7. and a column by James Strong cause of a current and temporary world- of the Chicago Tribune from December 8. wide oil glut. The overabundance of oil All three address the subject of the air on the world market is fortuitous. With- controllers strike and all three make a out it. any contemplation of cutting off. number of worthy points about that unLibyan oil imports would also be flirting fortunate subject. with a possible replay of the oil shortage Mr. President. in recent weeks I have of 1979complete with gasoline lines. read in the RECORD remarks both by the transportation paralysis. and widespread Senator from California economic consequences.. and the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Because of the.oll glut. then. we cur- WEICKER) regarding the PATCO strike. rently have the freedom to use Libyan Perhaps other of my colleagues have oil imports to chastise the Libyan re-. spoken on this subject. but I have read gimea satisfying reversal of our more those particular statements and have familiar recent roles. But petroleum ex- found much to agree with in both of perts predict that.. down the road. the them. oil glut will dissipate. When the oil glut The Times editorial and the Raspberry vanishes. we will lose the option that the column identiy a number of human and oil oversupply gives us today. because we economic reasons that. make It sensible will have no ready and abundant Petro- for the administrationto reconsider Its leum replacements and. no energy fall- attitude toward the .12.000. controllersback positiohint short. no comprehen-. who have lost their jobsi .: sive energy program at all. Without such That the strike was Illegal. there can an energy program arid withoilt an oil be no argument.That PATCO la abroken glut. we face the possibility of future organization is obvious. punitive. and even accidental oil cutoffs But. neither can it lie aid that air against the United States that would carriers and passengers have come again. make our international action throtigh this dispute unscathid. Flights hostage to the whims of foreign despots have been limited to 80 percent of preand other religious" or Ideological strike levels. flight delays are at high fanatics. I . . levels. particularly In the Northeast corridor. and the airlines and PATCO have agreed in Federal court that the strike cost the carriers nearly $29 million in damages. Mr. President. the holiday season is here. It is the time of the year when. more than any other. we talk about "good will toward men." It is also. of course. a very busy time of the year for air carriers. It is the perfect time. for those reasons. for the administration to reevaluate the situation. The President has already indicated he will not. after all. bar striking controllers from going to work for the Government in other jobs. That is a welcome and necessary step. but now may also be the time. as the Times editarial suggests. for the administration to consider the possibility of selective rehiring of controllers in tower jobs. to insure our air system continues to operate safely and efficiently until the new generation of controllers is trained. Mr. President. I hope my colleagues will give careful consideration to these three pieces. and I ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the RECORD.