William Tauzin: “I hope Americans focus on this as they watch this debate. That is, while OPEC has an enormous influence upon prices and…”

“I hope Americans focus on this as they watch this debate. That is, while OPEC has an enormous influence upon prices and supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel and home heating oil and jet fuel in our economy, OPEC can meet tomorrow and devastate this economy, as they once did, because we are so dependent upon those sources. Our whole card, our defense, is in our coal program. We have enough coal in this country to last 400, 500 years, maybe 800 years, if we develop it properly. Moving toward cleaner coal does not just make good sense for energy security, it makes sense in this Nation's commitment to the effort in global climate change. I am extremely interested in knowing that we are committed to a course not that is going to put anybody out of business or disrupt the American economy, but that we will find solutions to situations where we can reduce CO2 emissions through cleaner coal technologies and gasification projects. This is win-win-win for the American economy, for American security, for our environment, and for our international position on global warming and global climate.”