Lois Capps: “I rise in response to recent calls for new offshore drilling. These arguments for new drilling hit a dry hole for…”

“I rise in response to recent calls for new offshore drilling. These arguments for new drilling hit a dry hole for several reasons. First, we are already drilling offshore. Eighty percent of the known offshore reserves are in areas where leasing and drilling is allowed. Today, the oil companies have nearly 6,000 untapped leases in the Gulf of Mexico alone. Second, with 3 percent of the world's resources and 25 percent of the world's demand, there is no way we are going to just drill our way out of this problem. Third, even the Bush administration admits consumers would see little savings at the pump from new drilling. Yesterday, Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Information Agency, said this about the impact of new drilling: "It would be a relatively small effect, because it would take such a long time to bring those supplies on. It doesn't affect prices that much." Democrats have a better plan. Let's pass legislation that moves America in a new direction on energy by closing the Enron loophole on Wall Street speculators who are driving up prices. Let's reduce mass transit fares and build the infrastructure there, and let's force Big Oil to use it or lose it on drilling permits. I urge my colleagues to join with me in bringing America to a new, more affordable energy future.”