William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry: “I do have a problem with any part of the bill that tries to blame others for the problems we have inflicted on…”

“I do have a problem with any part of the bill that tries to blame others for the problems we have inflicted on ourselves. I would remind my colleagues that it was not OPEC who raised taxes on fuel so that now Americans pay 18 cents for every gallon of gasoline, plus State taxes added on top of that to nearly 40 cents a gallon. It was not OPEC which imposed a windfall profits tax on the domestic energy industry, that took $78 billion out of that industry and cost thousands and thousands of jobs. It was not OPEC which vetoed the 1999 tax bill that included several modest provisions to try to enhance domestic exploration and production. It is not OPEC that continues the extensive regulations that increases the cost of production on domestic producers and results in thousands of wells being shut down every year. It is also not OPEC that prevents us from exploring and drilling in ANWR when ANWR itself provided enough oil to the United States as we import from Saudi Arabia over a 30-year period, and it is certainly not OPEC that hinders the distribution of natural gas to the Northeast where those folks are paying more than they should to heat their homes. It has not been OPEC that has prevented us from developing a national energy policy.”