Lisa Murkowski: “my purpose in coming before the Senate at this late hour is to bring to your attention a rather catastrophic situation…”

“my purpose in coming before the Senate at this late hour is to bring to your attention a rather catastrophic situation that is occurring in the world today. We are all familiar with the devastation associated with the breakdown of the peace process in the Mideast and the tensions associated with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. I think it is important to recognize another significant factor that has occurred today; that is, the price of oil has increased about $3.40 a barrel in one day. Currently oil closed at roughly $36.40. That is just a few cents under the all-time high of 3 rac{1}{2}\ weeks ago where oil closed at $37 a barrel. Clearly, our increased dependence on Mideast oil, where we import about 58 percent of the total oil we consume, is a significant factor in recognizing that any conflict in the Mideast not only affects oil prices in the United States, because our supply is threatened, but it affects our stock market which has dropped rather dramatically today as well.”