Date: 2006-05-25
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague from California for yielding me this time. I rise in strong support of the legislation authorizing oil and gas exploration in ANWR. The House debated this bill many times. and many of the arguments are so familiar I think that some of us could stand up here without even talking 15oints. but I think we need to hear some other points today. Most importantly. oil and gas development does not destroy the environment. This bill only affects 2.000 acres out of 1.5 million acres. Oil and gas development on the North Slope has not reduced wildlife. destroyed caribou or other animals. I have been to Alaska and the North Slope a number of times. In fact. when I was there one time in August. the only thing I saw was white because it was a blizzard. That was in the middle of August. I dont know. maybe global warming has changed that since I was there 6 years ago. We have been pumping at Prudhoe Bay for 30 years. and that is just 80 miles west of ANWR. The less we produce domestically. the more oil tankers we have to bring into our ports. And at least the. oil tankers in Alaska are U.S. flag ships and we know they are U.S. crews. unlike the tankers that bring in the oil from other places in the world that are staffed by anyone. It is true that passing this bill will not lower gas prices immediately. but in the medium term it will. If we had opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 20002001. that supply would have helped us when the Gulf of Mexico production was shut down last year because of Hurricanes KatrinR and Rita. When oil is flowing from ANWR to the continental United States. our economy would be much stronger. The price for oil in the U.S. would have fewer spikes. and we would be less vulnerable to foreign nations using the "oil weapon." Opponents of ANWR also say we should do alternatives instead of ANWR. We need to do both. I supported the energy bill with its historic move to ethanol. and I fully support major U.S. research efforts into alternative transportation technologies. However. there is not enough corn in the U.S. to make 100 percent ethanol for all the U.S. cars. and hydrogen fuel cells are still years away for the average American. Most of us are going to be using gasoline made from crude oil for the next 1520 years. Oil and gas development in ANWR is not the final solution. but it is the bridge to the future of energy technology. Finally. ANWR is also an important issue for working families who are most at risk from the spikes in the price of gasoline and who are the least able to take advantage of these alternatives. This legislation is expected to provide 250.000 to 1 million jobs for American families. and that is why organized labor supports this bill. Many opponents of ANWR drive SUVs. and they can afford the high gas prices. In my district. they cannot afford the high cost of hybrids. But working families are going to need affordable gasoline for the next 1520 years until the price of alternatives comes down. Mr. Speaker. you can be proANWR and proalternative. and that is why I ask support for H.R. 5429. Environmentally fragile. I have heard that so much. I represent an area on the western Gulf of Mexico. and we are also environmentally fragile. but we have been producing for America for a number of years. We just need some help from other areas in our Nation.