On the recordJune 26, 2008
the administration's answer to record gas prices today is to allow drilling in Alaska's pristine wilderness and off our shorelines for little payoff a decade from now. What they don't tell you is that big oil companies already lease 68 million acres of public lands that they are not developing. Big oil companies are sitting on 81 percent of America's Federal oil and gas reserves, but all they are producing are complaints that it's not enough. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6251--the ``use it or lose it'' bill. This legislation would compel the oil industry to start drilling on the acreage they already lease before obtaining any new leases. Madam Speaker, if domestic drilling can bring relief to American families, what are the oil companies waiting for?
Source
govinfo.gov




