The bad news is that some D.C. policy makers appear to have declared a war on oil.

Our nation is blessed with abundant energy resources--both on land and beneath the surfaces of our lands and waters.

Congress should be pushing for increased exploration and production in offshore areas like the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf.

Our renewable energy resources are wonderful and vast. We look forward to the time that you will come up to visit them.

Today, over 80% of the nation's total energy consumption comes from conventional sources like coal, oil, and natural gas.

I'm very pleased to hear your announcement this morning about the memorandum of understanding with FERC and MMS.

Congress and the Interior Department should be encouraging the use of natural gas.

We need to take it where there are people.

I think you're exactly right.

We're giving the Administration another opportunity to revisit ANWR.

The Endangered Species Act is not well suited to deal with climate change which is a global phenomenon that has built up over decades.

Part of this legislation is to break the logjam that's preventing access to incredible renewable energy potential.

I want to follow up on the planning side of it. There's certainly a lot of transmission planning that is happening right now.

Senator Murkowski. Would you agree, commissioner, that these are not duplicative, but that you've got focuses in different areas that allow for greater collaboration, as opposed to creating a choke point?

But just if I could understand your comments, then, if it's made available.

Let's go underneath. Let's use the technology that allows us to drill directionally under the surface with no surface occupancy.

I think FERC would be an appropriate one to do that, to the extent that it is this system that we're talking about.

Energy security is a national goal and transmission infrastructure is a backbone requirement.

all of these actions will slow down rather than speed up domestic energy production.

The President's budget proposals would have this Nation turn its back on workers in the petroleum industry.

I have described the President's budget blueprint as a war on domestic production.

the vast majority of Americans are going to run their cars on petroleum for the foreseeable future.

I believe very, very strongly that this was a process mistake as well as a policy mistake.

Senator Murkowski. Let me ask you, Chairman Wellinghoff, about the announcement from Secretary Salazar, his secretarial order yesterday that called for Interior to not only establish these renewable energy zones, but to handle the…

I would hope that you would advise Secretary Salazar and President Obama with regards to that.