Cord Byrd: “during my half century of service in this great body, I have seen too many energy shortages and too many half-hearted…”

“during my half century of service in this great body, I have seen too many energy shortages and too many half-hearted efforts by the Federal Government to respond. A geopolitical crisis erupts and oil prices rise. All too quickly, our economy is destabilized. Our national security is undermined. Americans become alarmed. Politicians promise solutions. Once the crisis passes, oil prices decline, public attention fades, and nothing happens to cushion the Nation from the next energy shock. All the while, our dependence on foreign oil grows with ever-worsening implications for our economic and national security. About 40 percent of the energy we use in the United States comes from petroleum. The majority of this oil is imported from chronically unstable countries. It is shocking to think that our transportation system and so many sectors of our economy are dependent on a constant flow of energy from these dangerous and politically unstable lands. The very security of this great and powerful Nation is vulnerable to the whims of fanatical despots. The well-being of our country is always in threat of a government coup in Nigeria, a typhoon in the Persian Gulf, or a terrorist attack on oil shipments in the Middle East. We must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In a speech I made more than two decades ago in this Chamber, I warned the Reagan administration against cutting back on our energy programs.”