Angie Craig: “In 1980, the United States was about 35-percent dependent on foreign hydrocarbons, foreign oil. Now, there were some…”

“In 1980, the United States was about 35-percent dependent on foreign hydrocarbons, foreign oil. Now, there were some folks out there saying: Boy, if we don't get busy here, we could someday be 40-percent dependent. Well, they were right. We did not get busy. In fact, we increasingly restricted the ability to refine and the ability to discover and the ability to produce, and by 1984 or 1985, we were at 45 percent. And that kept going on. What is the risk factor there? We know what the risk factor is. The risk factor is, we did not do anything and we are now over 50-percent dependent, and in some instances as high as 65 percent, give or take, dependent on foreign oil sources. You see what has happened at the pump. I don't know what you or I were paying for gas in 1980 but it was well under $1 a gallon. Now we are paying $1.55, $1.60 a gallon for regular fuel. The average household is spending a great deal more on energy today than it did in 1980. We did not develop a policy. We did quite the opposite.”