Matteo Renzi: “Americans invested their tax dollars in building a pipeline that runs almost 800 miles from the coastal plain in Prudhoe…”

“Americans invested their tax dollars in building a pipeline that runs almost 800 miles from the coastal plain in Prudhoe Bay all the way down to Valdez, millions and billions of dollars, jobs and the economy back in the 1970s when I graduated from high school. Many of my classmates went and worked on the pipeline. Some stayed because of the magnificent beauty of Alaska. What we learned is that this pipeline at its highest production was producing about 2 million gallons or a little bit more. During the first Gulf War, under President Bush, we increased that to a little bit over 2 million because the production had fallen off to about 1.5 million barrels a day. Right now, even though we are at war with Iraq, at maximum production we are only getting 1 million gallons a day, and that is because the reserves at Prudhoe Bay have fallen off, and yet to answer the gentleman's question, 74 miles is all we need to go with a little step. All we have to do is build off of the existing pipeline in order to reach ANWR, and of that 74 miles, 30-some odd miles has already been completed.”