On the recordMay 21, 2002
I asked that I be allowed to offer a motion to strike $6 million that is included in the supplemental appropriation bill to fund the Colombian Army to protect the pipeline, the oil pipeline owned by that country, but operated in conjunction with Occidental Petroleum and two other multinational oil companies. I do not think that U.S. taxpayers should be paying for the protection of private oil when in fact Occidental, for example, made over $2 billion over the last 2 years. Why should the American people be asked to pay $6 million or $100 million to protect that particular facility? I was reminded of how very difficult it is to get America and certain decision-makers to think beyond the petroleum age. Sometimes you wonder if you can ever win this fight and wean us off our terrible, terrible strategic vulnerability to imported petroleum.
Source
govinfo.gov
