Angie Craig: “As I said, I am pleased to rise today to support introduction of the National Energy Security Act of 2001. At the…”

“As I said, I am pleased to rise today to support introduction of the National Energy Security Act of 2001. At the request of the Majority Leader during the last Congress, Senator Murkowski and other Senators began the process of developing a solution to the energy "fix" in which we found ourselves in beginning in late 1999. Back then, OPEC cut crude oil production to force up world oil prices. It worked--oil prices rose quickly from about $12 per barrel and hit a high of about $32 per barrel last spring. Our motorists were worried about the increasing cost of gasoline and truckers were concerned about rising fuel oil prices. Also, residential customers in the Northeast watched as their home heating oil bills skyrocketed. In the past dozen months the situation has worsened. Gasoline, fuel oil, and home heating oil prices remain high. Natural gas prices have tripled to about $6.00 per million Btu's (British Thermal Units). Natural gas production has remained static even though the number of drilling rigs looking for gas has tripled over the last year. Further, natural gas in storage is just above 1 billion cubic feet, about half of what is usually in storage this time of year. Residential gas customers in some parts of the Nation have seen their winter heating bills triple. Wholesale electricity prices have risen significantly.”