Cornyn: Decrease Dependence On Foreign Energy; Increase National, Economic Security

Cornyn: Decrease Dependence On Foreign Energy; Increase National, Economic Security

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following remarks at a hearing Wednesday titled: "Consolidation in the Energy Industry: Raising Prices at the Pump?" Cornyn said there is bipartisan consensus to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and that it is critical to increase exploration of various alternative sources of energy. He added that gas prices are likely affected by a range of factors.

"Congress can legislate and we can actually repeal laws from time to time, and do, but we can't repeal the laws of supply and demand. And the fact is that there is growing demand in a globalized economy for limited and scarce natural resources. So I applaud the President's emphasis in his State of the Union speech on trying to further limit our dependence on imported energy, which obviously has national security implications. It has tremendous implications for our economy.

"I know that none of us would want to do anything that would have an impact on our ability to explore for and develop more resources. Increasing the supply if demand remained static would necessarily decrease cost.

"I'll work to come up with sensible solutions to the challenges that confront us. But I hope we don't engage in knee jerk solutions, which actually have the impact of exacerbating the problem, and ultimately hurt the consumer."

Sen. Cornyn is a member of the following key Senate Committees: Armed Services; Judiciary; Budget; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Joint Economic. He is also the chairman of the subcommittees on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship; and Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

http://cornyn.senate.gov/index.asp?f=record&lid=1&yid=1&rid=237102&pg=1