William Helms: “I have been deeply troubled for most of the 23 years I've been a Member of the Senate about the United States having…”

“I have been deeply troubled for most of the 23 years I've been a Member of the Senate about the United States having become more and more deeply dependent upon foreign countries-- many in the highly volatile Middle East--to supply the bulk of the energy needs of the American people. I held hearings on this perilous problem when I was chairman of the Agriculture Committee a decade ago, and more recently in my capacity as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The administration acknowledges that this is a national security concern, but, Mr. President, there obviously is a lot of fiddling while Rome burns--the administration has done precisely nothing about U.S. dependency on foreign oil. Mr. President, Americans now are forced to rely on foreign oil for more than 50 percent of our needs. Not too long ago, 50 percent was pegged as the perilous threshold which must not be crossed. But, it was crossed, under President Clinton's watch, after U.S. blood was spilled in the Middle East in Desert Storm.”