CNBC Capital Report - transcript

CNBC News Transcripts

SHOW: Capital Report (7:00 PM ET) - CNBC

March 24, 2004 Wednesday

HEADLINE: Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska discusses why she feels the US should not tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and why it should drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

ANCHORS: GLORIA BORGER

BODY:
GLORIA BORGER, co-host:

And now let's turn to Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. She opposes dipping into the US oil reserves.

You just heard what your colleague Chuck Schumer said. He said the reason the administration really won't do this is not because they're worried about an emergency, is because they're worried about their friends in big oil.

Senator LISA MURKOWSKI (Republican, Alaska; Energy & Natural Resources Committee): You know, let's look at this. I mean, what we're talking about here is the nation's energy security. With the Strategic Reserves, this is our fall-back, this is our safety net. This is what we have to use if we do have this real emergency. So tapping into it should not be something that we do just to soften the prices...

BORGER: But aren't private oil reserves low right now? So why keep diverting 150,000 barrels a day when you could dip into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is full up, and pay it back later?

Sen. MURKOWSKI: Well, because what are you really going to be able to take out of the reserves that's actually going to make a difference? And if you're going to be compromising your energy security and you're not truly making a difference in price, then you've got to balance that. And that's what this is all about. Again, let's go back to the energy security. This is why it was kind of interesting to listen to Senator Schumer's comments. He agrees with me that we need to be more energy-secure, and you do that through your own domestic reserves.

BORGER: But he doesn't want to drill in ANWR.

Sen. MURKOWSKI: You almost got him to the point where, you know-but not in ANWR. But this is the problem. But not in ANWR. ANWR is the greatest opportunity that we...

BORGER: We might add that's your home state.

Sen. MURKOWSKI: It is my home state, and I will add that 75 percent of the people in my home state recognize that we can drill there safely and we can still provide and meet the environmental concerns and safeguards that we as Alaskans want and as Americans you expect and help to reduce this dependence. Now he's right, we can't-we cannot eliminate our dependence on foreign sources, but we can certainly work to reduce it.

BORGER: Would you go for some combination of conservation...

Sen. MURKOWSKI: We have to.

BORGER: ...such as higher mileage standards on cars, as well as drilling in the ANWR, then?

Sen. MURKOWSKI: We have got to look at everything. We've got to look at conservation. You've got to have alternatives, renewables. But we recognize that so much of the petroleum that we use in this country is not necessarily just what we put in our vehicles. We're talking Band-Aids, cosmetics, CDs. Over 50 percent of the petroleum that we use is not put in our vehicles. So let's be realistic about our petroleum use and recognize that just having higher mileage standards is not going to be solving the problem.

BORGER: OK. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, thanks so much for being with us tonight.

Sen. MURKOWSKI: Thank you.