Pete Domenici: “I rise tonight to remind the Senate that in this bill is something we can all be proud of, especially on this cold…”

“I rise tonight to remind the Senate that in this bill is something we can all be proud of, especially on this cold night. The American people are using more and more natural gas in their homes, and they will soon be getting bills--or they already have--with the increases in the cost of natural gas beginning to show up. Many companies have already closed their doors because natural gas prices are so high. For the first time, we will have passed a production-oriented bill with reference to natural gas and crude oil. In this bill is the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act--passed by bipartisan votes in the Senate--which establishes some precedent because, for the first time, we are now going to do some deepwater drilling. We held that in abeyance for about 25 years and acted as if we didn't need any, just leave it there. It is American, but we won't use it. Well, we are going to start now. That will open other States which can look at this bill and say: We ought to join up and begin to let drilling take place off of our coast, because they will share in the proceeds--the second good precedent that is made in this bill. It will produce large quantities of natural gas over the next decade and a small amount of crude oil--1.2 billion barrels. With reference to natural gas, it will produce gas for millions of homes and thousands upon thousands of businesses.…”