Marcy Kaptur: “the recent events in Venezuela have given the American people yet another example of the way that oil distorts U.S.…”

“the recent events in Venezuela have given the American people yet another example of the way that oil distorts U.S. foreign policy. Most Americans do not realize it, but Venezuela is a crucial supplier of oil to the United States. According to the CIA, petroleum dominates the Venezuelan economy, accounting for approximately one-third of its economy and 80 percent of its export earnings. In fact, Venezuela ranks third on the list of countries that provide with us petroleum, approximately 1.5 million barrels every day, or more than half of its total production. Stanley Weiss, founder and chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a nonpartisan organization of business leaders, wrote recently in the Los Angeles Times that the United States imports twice as much oil from Canada and Venezuela as it does from the Persian Gulf. And Venezuela is particularly important as a source of reformulated gasoline, which is required in many American cities that are struggling to meet USEPA emission standards for clean air. Every time an American citizen pulls up to a Citgo gas pump, they are pumping dollars into the Venezuelan national oil company known as Pedevesa. And it was labor unrest at the Pedevesa facilities throughout Venezuela that helped to spur the 1-day coup against Venezuelan President Hugh Chavez.”