Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the first thing that I want to do is commend the gentleman from North Dakota for his hard work on this. He is an original cosponsor of H.R. 702. He is a valued member of the ad hoc whip team that we put together. He and I have worked the floor. We have had dinners with undecided Members. We have helped coordinate action efforts with some of the outside groups that are supportive. You have been unflagging in his help on this. I could say similar things about the Speaker in the chair. The gentleman from Arkansas has also been a valued member of our team. What I want to focus on is to explain to the Members what this means strategically to the United States of America. The world produces and consumes about 95 million barrels of oil per day right now; 95 million. Three countries, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, combined produce about 30 percent of that, a little over 30 million barrels a day between those three countries. Right now, Saudi Arabia would be number one, Russia would be number two, and the United States would be number three at about 9 million barrels a day production here in the United States. Until this bill becomes law, which we hope will pass the House and the Senate and the President will sign it this weekend, if you want to change the world oil markets, it takes five or six phone calls.…”