On the recordFebruary 16, 2012
I also rise in opposition to this amendment. As the chairman has pointed out, there is no market in Alaska, and we know how the other side feels about building pipelines through Canada. Right now, we've got an historic low price of gas, which is great for America, but it's also great for the rest of the world. This is our opportunity to use our excess capacity. We're producing more than we can consume, hence the low price. We're flaring it through areas of Texas. This is an opportunity to lower our balance of trade and to make some money. Then, as the price goes up, the government gets more in royalties. I would also like to point out, if we applied this same logic to other commodities--well, let's not export our food so our food prices go down. Let's not export our cars so our car prices go down.
