Angie Craig: “I will reclaim my time, Mr. President, since the Senator has answered for himself. It is obvious, training capability.…”

“I will reclaim my time, Mr. President, since the Senator has answered for himself. It is obvious, training capability. We also know--and the military will agree--that once a well is drilled, the rig goes away. There is no surface obstruction. We are talking about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas potentially. We may be talking about a whole region that has 6 or 7 billion barrels of oil in it, let alone trillions of cubic feet of gas. We ought to be concerned environmentally, but my guess is we can fly around them a little bit while it is going on and then the rigs go away. But the oil and the gas keep flowing for the security of the economy of this country. I don't think citizens at the pumps right now are worried too much about flight patterns, but they are worried an awful lot about a flat pocketbook because we have not allowed ourselves the foresight that I am trying to suggest our foreign policy in these instances denied. You and I will debate 181 and beyond. But at our back door, and a heck of a lot closer to the coastline of your State than any sale proposed today out of 181, toward the east, 50 miles off is where the Chinese at this moment are test drilling to determine whether in fact there is a supply of oil. Then the rigs go in place. Then the environmental issues that you and I are concerned about may well come to be. I hope I am wrong. But I know I am right about this. These sales and test drillings are currently going on.”