Issue Position: Gas Prices

Issue Position

Issue Position: Gas Prices

We all know gasoline prices seem to go up more often than they go down. Strong demand for energy caused by healthy economic growth here and abroad have collided with decreasing supplies caused by declining domestic production, natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and political instability abroad. We did not get into this situation overnight and we will not get out of it overnight, but I promise to work to secure the energy America needs until those requirements are met.

Just this past summer, I voted for the "Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act", a bill that makes it easier for the American people to use energy resources located in the deep ocean (100 miles or more off our coast). This bill gave states the flexibility and authority to allow safe production of energy resources, such as natural gas, within 100 miles of their coasts. Although Hurricanes Rita and Katrina disrupted oil and production last year, there were no major spills, accidents, or loss of life on drilling rigs or production platforms. Failure to use this energy resource will only increase our reliance on foreign oil that has to be imported on tankers through our coastal waters. The wisdom of this environmentally sound approach to meet our future energy needs was confirmed in early September when Chevron announced the discovery in the deep water off of Louisiana of the biggest US oilfield since Prudhoe Bay. This single find is predicted to account for 11% of US oil production in just seven years. This is exciting news and I am sure more finds will follow now that this important legislation is in place. I also support further drilling and oil production on the North Slope of Alaska, including a very small portion of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Energy exploration and production in ANWR would take place on just 2,000 acres of its 1.5 million acre northern coastal plain. To put this in perspective, this is about the same relationship between a single letter and an entire page of a newspaper. Or, to put it another way, ANWR is about the size of South Carolina, but the footprint of oil and gas development would occupy a space equivalent to the Charleston, South Carolina airport. I have visited ANWR, seen the area first-hand and spoken with local Alaskans. The primary areas of ANWR that function as a wildlife reserve are further south, in the central and southern regions of ANWR. American ingenuity and advanced technology would allow us to safely produce 900,000 barrels of oil per day for the next 30 years. Responsible use of ANWR would expand America's oil and gas resources and reduce their price. The nation would save $14 billion per year in oil imports, simultaneously create thousands of American jobs, and enhance federal revenues by billions of dollars. Last, but not least, it would allow us to obtain this vital resource here at home, rather than importing it from politically volatile regions such as the Middle East or Venezuela.

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