Trent Lott: “today's fuel prices are a daily reminder that America is now at the mercy of foreign oil producing nations. America's…”

“today's fuel prices are a daily reminder that America is now at the mercy of foreign oil producing nations. America's dependence on foreign oil directly threatens our national security and our freedom. However, before you blame your neighbor's SUV, your local fuel distributors, the oil companies, the automakers, or any of the other usual scapegoats, consider this fact--America is one of the leading energy producing countries in the world. This country has the technology, alternative resources and enough oil and natural gas to be much more self-sufficient. America does not have to revert back to the practices of the 1970s. This country is faced with a very serious problem. Our nation's's farmers are being hit hard--due to the cost of home heating bills, farm fuel costs, gasoline, and the impact of the crisis on the fertilizer industry. For obvious reasons, the transportation industry is also seeing a significant hit in air cargo and passenger transportation, intercity bus, trucking, and rail transportation. This in turn affects the tourism industry. Rising oil prices impact more than just energy costs. They are absorbed into a wide variety of goods causing a general increase in consumer prices. This cost increase threatens the engine of the nation's economy, our nation's small businesses. All of this is simply because of the lack of an energy policy. As a result, U.S. crude oil production is down significantly, as consumption continues to rise.”