John B. Breaux: “I just say, referring to the map, the access restrictions I am talking about on the coast clearly are a total…”

“I just say, referring to the map, the access restrictions I am talking about on the coast clearly are a total prohibition. And this is a total prohibition. This has restrictions on access to those areas. For some of these areas, it should be. But what we are talking about today is not access restrictions to ANWR; we are talking about a total prohibition on ANWR. That is not access restrictions. That is a lot further. If we want to pass a bill that says we are going to carefully coordinate how you can get into that area, how you can exit that area, what you can do in that area, that is one thing; but the legislation we have in the current law of this country is: no access. That is not access restrictions; that is totally no access to areas that have potentially huge amounts of energy. Again, I would say, don't do ANWR if we don't need it. But anytime this country is importing 58 percent of our energy, I would suggest we need it. Are we importing 58 percent of our energy because we like to do that? Of course not. We are over a barrel paying OPEC prices, which they fix every 6 weeks. I think, if we are going to have a national energy policy, everybody has to come to the table, not just half of the equation.”