Senate Proceeding on May 1st, 2008 :: 4:46:35 to 4:55:53
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4:24:16 to 4:46:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Rockefeller

4:46:15 to 4:46:35( Edit History Discussion )

John Rockefeller: than 12.5 million barrels a day of petroleum, over 60% of our energy needs. as a matter of fact, i think it's higher than that now in the last two or three days. this is why our economy and the value

4:46:35 to 4:46:50( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: of the dollar has weakened and our energy costs are -- have skyrocketed. at $117 a barrel -- it is more than that now today, the united states spent nearly $1.5 billion each day on foreign oil. that's $533

4:46:35 to 4:55:53( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ted Stevens

4:46:50 to 4:47:04( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: billion each year which was not invested in our own economy. instead, that money's being sent along with jobs to other countries: nigeria, venezuela, saudi arabia. for every million barrels of oil we import,

4:47:04 to 4:47:21( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: 20,000 american jobs are lost. our country needs real economic stimulus now. that stimulus will come when we stop spending hundreds of billions of dollars each year to import oil and instead invest that money

4:47:21 to 4:47:34( Edit History Discussion )

in our own economy by increasing domestic production of our energy resources. the area known as an weather is a million and a half acres reserved for oil and gas development reserved on the arctic

4:47:34 to 4:47:51( Edit History Discussion )

slop in 1980 is the -- slope in 1980 is the large e untapped oil field -- largest untapped oil kneeled field in north america. oil companies estimate they spend between $45 billion and $60 billion

4:47:51 to 4:48:03( Edit History Discussion )

to develop this area. combined with the construction of the alaska natural gas pipeline, which is expected to start soon and will cost about $40 billion, these resources would deliver a massive influx

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of jobs and capital investment in the united states. our economy would be stabilized and the -- and the dollar would be strengthened. anwr and the alaska gas pipeline are only the beginning. this infrastructure

4:48:14 to 4:48:27( Edit History Discussion )

would help lead to the further development of the alaska outer continental shelf. we have more than two-thirds of the outer continental shelf and just recently it's been expand another hundred miles north of

4:48:27 to 4:48:42( Edit History Discussion )

alaska as we've discovered the further extension of the shelf in probing. the chukchi sea holds an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil and there's an estimated 17 million barrels of oil in the bow

4:48:42 to 4:48:52( Edit History Discussion )

for the sea off our state. bring these resources on-line would add even more jobs and capital to our economy. full development of these areas would result in at least 60,000 jobs. opening anwar alone

4:48:52 to 4:49:06( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: would require the construction of a complete fleet of 19 new tankers to transport the oil to the 19 lower 48. and those would be american built tankers, mr. president. under the law, this must be, under

4:49:06 to 4:49:23( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: the jonessage. this alone would create at least 2,000 jobs in the u.s. shipping industry, an approximately 300,000 jobs in other sectors of the economy. the energy industry estimates that alaska gas --

4:49:23 to 4:49:36( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: the alaska gas pipeline alone will create 4 400,000 new jobs nationwide 6789 now, senator schumer made an interesting statement the other day. he suggested opening anwr would reduce gases prices only pennies.

4:49:36 to 4:49:48( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: he took a shot at the president and said he took up -- i'm quoting now, senator schumer said "he takes out the old saw of an wmplet anwr wouldn't produce a drop of noil 10 years. iments estimated

4:49:48 to 4:50:00( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: if we drilled there, in 20 years, it would reduce the price of oil one penny." i'm afraid that shows how little the senator from new york understands the oil industry. it ignores the long-term stimulus

4:50:00 to 4:50:15( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: that domestic production will bring through investment in our economy, raising household incomes and individual buying power rather than sending money overseas. senator schumer should ask other nations

4:50:15 to 4:50:26( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: to increase -- he has asked other nations to increase their production. i -- i agree that increased production would help solve our problem. but that production should occur in our own country. and i think

4:50:26 to 4:50:42( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: i think the senators should realize that what's happening in terms of the oil industry is the key driver now to the cost of -- of gasoline is not supply and demand, it's really the value of the dollar and

4:50:42 to 4:50:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: the value of oil per se. the value of oil is now really represented by paper on the new york stock exchange that really has replaced gold. people are speculating in gas -- in oil. that's what's causing

4:50:54 to 4:51:06( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: the price of gas threen go up at the pump pump -- gasoline to go up at the pump. senator schumer should visit nynex andsk them to do something about that. to stop the speculation in oil. i personally

4:51:06 to 4:51:18( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: think it should be unlawful to speculate in anything related to energy in this country. and i think soon we'll -- we'll we'll -- we'll do that. this production has to come from our own country.

4:51:18 to 4:51:31( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: we have -- the position of the senator from new york would send more money, money jobs, and more tax and royalty revenues outside of our economy. i don't know how that will strengthen our dollar

4:51:31 to 4:51:42( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: or lower prices at the pump at all. it's not a question of supply and demand. it's a question of long-term commitment to restore our capability to produce oil and gas in this country. had president

4:51:42 to 4:51:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: clinton not vetoed the anwr bill before, we would be producing at least two million barrels a day more out of alaska right now. so i -- i don't like to be chided by the senator from new york about

4:51:54 to 4:52:04( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: why -- why we don't have more production in this country. and he's suggesting, again, as i said, that we ask the foreign producers to produce more oil and send it to us. you ought to send more money

4:52:04 to 4:52:17( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: out of the country, takes more jobs out of the country. i don't understand that at all. in 1995, when we approved the amendment allowing to develop the arctic plane, president clinton vetoed that

4:52:17 to 4:52:34( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: legislation, and we're paying the consequences consz now today h. he not vetoed the legislation to the transalaska gas pipeline currently operating now at less than full capacity, it's less than 50% of

4:52:34 to 4:52:45( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: capacity. as a matter of fact, it is even worse than that, it's about 38% of capacity. we're sending through about 670 thowrks 700,000 barrels a dane stead -- 670,000 or 700,000 barrels a day instead

4:52:45 to 4:52:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: of 2 2 million barrels a day. we could easily have that pipeline full and offset imports, keep our trade deficit down and keep jobs and money in our economy. and in the long run -- in the long run,

4:52:54 to 4:53:07( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: not short run, increased production does not affect the price you it pump in the short run. it's the long run. in the long run, we would continue to increase domestic production of oil, and that,

4:53:07 to 4:53:21( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: in effect, would give us competition against the price set by foreign producers and we would be able to reduce the at the pump in the long run. now, between the outer continental shelf, anwr, the national

4:53:21 to 4:53:37( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: petroleum reserve in alaska, which is now ready to be be leased, resources remaining in prudhoe bay, we believe we have at least 33 billion barrels of oil lt to produce. that's an estimate, mr.

4:53:37 to 4:53:47( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: president. when they estimated how much oil was at prudhoe bay, they estimated one billion barrels of . we've now produced 18 billion. i would remind the senate of the estimate of one billion barrels

4:53:47 to 4:54:00( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: for prudhoe bay. now, we've produced more than that and it's still produced. at full capacity, we ought to be able to deliver at least 2 2.5 million barrels a day to the market and -- and we do have

4:54:00 to 4:54:10( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: oil from outside of the arctic uks by the way, in the cook inlet. we can really reduce the impact of sending more and money money out of the country and really affect the american economy as we

4:54:10 to 4:54:23( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: spend that money here at home. that money would generate tax and royalty revenues, fund research into alternative energy sources, create jobs, and strengthen the dollar and lower the energy prices

4:54:23 to 4:54:37( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: in the long run. weak dollar is what's causing speculation in oil futures and increasing the price of oil and gas at the pumpment the economic stimulus we need is investment in our own country,

4:54:37 to 4:54:49( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: which develops our own resources instead of relying on those from other countries. by increasing domestic production, we would make our own nation's needs -- strengthen the me and generate tax and

4:54:49 to 4:55:00( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: royalty revenue which would be be -- strengthen the economy and generate tax and royalty rev dmiew would be spent back into the economy. this would reduce the cost of our gas at the pump instead

4:55:00 to 4:55:13( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: of going up and up and up, because that's what the foreign produces demand. we've got to stop spending our money abroad and sending our jobs abroad to pay for energy resources, which when we could

4:55:13 to 4:55:53( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Stevens: news money here at home to develop the vast resources that we have. alaska is the store house of energy for the future. it should not be just cast aside as it has. and i hope we'll find pay way to vote