Political Quotes

“I rise as chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. I would like to advise my colleagues that we had an oversight hearing in June on the MMS oil valuation issue. The results of that hearing indicated that we should initiate a dialogue with the principals. That dialogue was entered into. I felt gratified that we were making progress relative to this complex issue and was chagrined to find at a later date that the advances we thought we were making simply had been overturned by the policymakers of the Department of the Interior and the administration. As a consequence, this conversation about corporate welfare, big oil, and big business is incorrect because we are talking about small companies in many cases. The oil and gas industry has lost a quarter of a million jobs. This is an industry that now finds itself moving overseas where there is a favorable climate for exploration and production. As evidence of that, Mr. President, in 1973 and 1974, we were 37-percent dependent on imported oil; today, we are 52-percent dependent. The Department of Energy suggests we are going to be 66-percent dependent in the year 2004 or 2005. The amendment offered by Senator Domenici and Senator Hutchison during committee markup would delay the implementation of the final rules on Federal oil valuation until October 1999, or until a negotiated rule can be achieved. The oil and gas industry is struggling in a declining market.”