Rob Bishop: “Mr. Speaker, the gentleman and I have been here 3 months. In that time, I have found nothing more exciting than what I…”

“Mr. Speaker, the gentleman and I have been here 3 months. In that time, I have found nothing more exciting than what I wish to speak about today, the potential of an Energy Security Act of 2003. This country has been for far too long without a comprehensive energy program. With energy prices rising and our dependence on foreign oil, we need to find a domestic source of our potential future energy. What this Congress needs to do to solve this problem and also to eliminate a future crisis is to look to the lands that are already controlled by the Federal Government. In the coming days, Congress will have the opportunity to debate the Energy Security Act of 2003. Within this critical bill is the authorization allowing drilling in Section 1002 of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Now, contrary to popular belief, this is not the pristine cathedral of the wilderness or the last great unexplored frontier; it is thousands of acres of frozen tundra, uninhabitable, with its greatest summer crop being mosquitoes. More importantly, when Congress created this ANWR, we realized that within that there was the great potential for oil.”