Drilling in ANWR

Floor Speech

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, Democrats like foreign energy. I don't know why they like foreign energy because if we are dependent on foreign energy, since we import 60 percent of it now, it is a national security risk.

You have to ask what area of land have the Democrats agreed to explore. You have to ask that question. When 62 percent of our domestic onshore energy supplies are locked up because of Democrat regulation, and 85 percent of our offshore energy supplies are locked up because of Democrat regulation, you have to ask yourself what can we do.

You know, if you started drilling in ANWR, and remember, President Clinton vetoed that 10 years ago. That would have reduced your gas prices now probably 10 to 15 cents; nobody actually knows. But what would ANWR be. Put it this way, if ANWR was a basketball court, because it is the size of South Carolina, but just to give a word picture, if it were the size of a basketball court, the drilling area would be a business card. Fanatical extremists have locked that up.

If you announced right now that we are going to start drilling in ANWR, you could get oil out of there within 3 years, according to Don Young, but the announcement alone would send a message to the foreign markets that America wants to wean itself from foreign gasoline. And, therefore, the price of energy would go down because that is how business works. When there is a little competition, your price comes down.

ANWR is the size of a business card on a basketball court.

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