On the recordMay 10, 2011
Madam President, it has been called to my attention that there are some people who are trying to respond to the fact that we have such high prices of gasoline at the pumps in a totally unrealistic way, in a way that is class warfare, in a way that doesn't make any sense to anyone, when we have a solution to this problem we have been talking about for a long period of time. There are some who are trying to say we are going to have to do something about the subsidies that are given to oil companies, about what they have been doing over the years, and all of a sudden they are the ones who are responsible for the high price of gas at the pumps. A CRS report was requested by my colleague, Lisa Murkowski, that grew out of frustration with the Democrats' refrain that ``America has only 3 percent of the global oil reserves.'' Therefore, under this view, more drilling and production at home is futile. As President Obama has said many times, ``with 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, the U.S. cannot drill its way to energy security.'' Well, it can, because it is not 3 percent. A CRS report came out later and showed--and this is something people don't want to believe, but it is out there and it is a fact--the United States of America has the largest recoverable reserves of oil, gas, and coal of any country in the world--more than China, Saudi Arabia, or anyone else. Our problem is a political one--this administration. It goes down Democratic and Republican lines.…





