Political Quotes

“Ever since I got involved in public policy, which was about 40 years ago, this Nation has been crying for energy independence. I remember my very first campaign in 1974, during the oil energy crisis, when there was all around the world no oil available and no gas available, and we wanted to be energy independent. We are actually getting close to it; although, we continue to import 25 percent of our crude oil, but maybe we are on the cusp of being energy independent. So what does Big Oil want to do? It is not good enough that they should be the wealthiest of all corporations in America and the world. They want to take our precious and almost energy independent oil and export it. Where is it going to go? Where is the market? China, for sure, wants oil. They are going to need to double their import of oil. So where is Big Oil going to go with our precious natural resource that we have for at least the last 40 years been trying to use to achieve energy independence? Why would my good friend from Texas give away to Big Oil our energy independence? Why would we do that? By the way, the 1975 law does not prohibit. It puts the hand of the government--the President and the Secretary of Commerce--on the spigot, and if it is not in America's interest to export, they can shut the spigot down. There is no such protection in this. The only hand on the spigot for the export of oil is Big Oil.…”