Michael Burgess: “This week is the first week in summer. Gasoline prices are high as we enter into the summer driving season. So energy…”

“This week is the first week in summer. Gasoline prices are high as we enter into the summer driving season. So energy independence should be a goal of this Congress. Worldwide demand for petroleum has increased in the last decade, but the growth in production has been relatively flat. The inevitable result is higher prices at the gasoline pump. The reality is it takes a long time to go from an oil field to a gas station. We have lost considerable time in that regard. In 1995 in the 104th Congress, H.R. 2491 would have allowed oil exploration and drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of Energy has estimated that between 1 and 1.3 million barrels of oil a day could be derived from this source. Unfortunately, this legislation was vetoed by the previous administration. And that was nearly 10 years ago. Given a timeline of 7 to 14 years for building a pipeline, it is time that we could scarcely afford. Mr. Speaker, I have been to ANWR. The vast coastal plain is unsuitable for habitation during the summer months because of its marshy consistency. The people who live in ANWR are counting on this Congress to do the right thing and allow them, the rightful owners of these mineral rights, to begin developing the resources that were granted to them upon statehood in 1959. As we say in Texas, "Time's a wasting."”