Cliff Stearns: “as summer turns towards winter, the American people will continue to face high prices of gasoline and soon will face…”

“as summer turns towards winter, the American people will continue to face high prices of gasoline and soon will face even higher costs for natural gas. Short of moving to Florida or another warm weather State, the American people are looking to Congress to solve this problem. Recent events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have highlighted a very serious problem with the Nation's crude oil and gasoline supply/demand balance. One way to fix this balance is for the United States to increase its refining and production capacity. No new refinery has been built in the United States in nearly 30 years. Total current capacity at operating refineries is 17 million barrels per day while total U.S. demand is nearly 21 million barrels per day. Therefore, the only way to bridge this gap is to increase the amount of imported refined products from foreign sources. Currently the U.S. imports 7.9 percent of its total refined petroleum products. By 2005, the U.S. is expected to import 10.7 percent of its total. Mr. Speaker, these staggering numbers further underscore the dire need for new and increased refining capacity in the United States. If not, we will continue to rely on unstable, anti-American governments to meet our growing demand for gasoline. Not only will this situation be a blow to economic growth in this country but it will also represent a serious national security risk for all of us.…”