Thomas Mott Osborne: “I am sure that most Members spent time touring their districts in August, and I did as well. The major complaint that I…”

“I am sure that most Members spent time touring their districts in August, and I did as well. The major complaint that I heard was what probably most Members heard. That was concern about high fuel prices. We all know that fuel for automobiles, trucks, and airplanes have simply gone out of sight. One thing that we are not probably quite as aware of as a Nation is what it has done to agriculture, particularly where irrigation is concerned. I talked to one Member of Congress who does some farming and irrigating. He was telling me that he had one center pivot that was powered by electricity; it cost him $1,000. He had one center pivot that was powered by either diesel or propane; that was $4,000. Same pivot, same size, and normally electricity would be higher than diesel or propane. So fuel has really eaten into the farm profits this year, and it is going to make farming very unprofitable for many people. What has happened? Obviously, one major issue has been that global demand has increased. We realize that China, India, countries like these, have been industrialized, and over the last 4, 5, 6 years have been using much more fuel. Number two, exploration has been curtailed. A 1998 executive order extended a moratorium on offshore drilling for 10 years. It is assumed that these areas would contain 75 billion barrels of oil and 362 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but they are off limits.…”