Senate Proceeding on Jul 23rd, 2008 :: 3:20:52 to 3:24:41
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3:18:09 to 3:20:52( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Thad Cochran

3:20:35 to 3:20:52( Edit History Discussion )

Thad Cochran: and alaska's arctic national wildlife refuge, which we commonly refer to as anwr. and also on the outer continental shelf. now, a lot of us in washington, d.c., use the term anwr,nw and we bandy

3:20:52 to 3:21:08( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: it about and i -- i'm afraid that some people may not realize out in -- in grassroots america what anwr is. anwr is antarctic reserve that is the size of the state of south carolina. it is a vast, frozen

3:20:52 to 3:24:41( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Roger F. Wicker

3:21:08 to 3:21:26( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: area in the very n orthern most part of alass ka. what we have h proposed is drilling for oil there in a small area of this vast reserve about the size of the t typical metropolitan airport. congress

3:21:26 to 3:21:40( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: sent president clinton a bill in 1995 to provide for energy exploration in anwr. we -- we are told that if president clinton had not vetoed that bill in 1995, we would today be getting the same amount of

3:21:40 to 3:21:54( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: crude oil from anwr as we currently having to import from sawdy arabia -- saudi arabia. this would have been american jobs. this would have been american dollars spent here in the united states

3:21:54 to 3:22:11( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: to make us less energy dependent on foreign and unstable sources. now last week president bush took a major step in moving us toward energy independence, when he lifte d the executive ban on offshore

3:22:11 to 3:22:29( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: drilling. we still have the obstacle of a congressionally mandated ban on offshore drilling, which we ought to be discussing in this legislationle today. and we ought to be voting on in o the next

3:22:29 to 3:22:45( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: 25 legislative day that's we have remaining. -- day that's we have remaining. the -- days that we have remaining. the peak of the pricing for a barrel of crude oil was $146 per barrel only a few short days

3:22:45 to 3:22:58( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: ago. yesterday it closed at $126.80 per barrel.l. there are experts who will tell you that the confidence injected into the markets by this simple step by president bush caused a drop of some $19

3:22:58 to 3:23:12( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: per barrel in the price of crude oil. i think if congress would takee the further step s and actually pass the legislation to lift this ban or, more precisely, mr. president, to allow the moratorium

3:23:12 to 3:23:28( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: to expire at the end eof the fiscal year, i think there would be even more confidence in the market and the price of crude oil and gasoline would continue to drop. we also need to -- to eliminate

3:23:28 to 3:23:47( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the ban on oil o shale. and this has been discussed this morning. we have three times the amount of crude oil reserves in three western states in the forms of oil shale. we have three times the supply

3:23:47 to 3:24:02( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: as we currently see in saudi arabia. and so i think that lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling. lifting the moratorium on anwr. and lifting the moratorium on the exploration of oilil shale in

3:24:02 to 3:24:13( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: our own country are steps that we definitely need to take. every moment we're idle, we will be ever more dependent on foreign sources of oil and i think that we need to act and act this year. and, again,

3:24:13 to 3:24:29( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: i toss it back to my friend, the senior senator from mississippi. mr. cochran: mr. president? the presiding offithcer: the senior senator from mississippi. mr. cochran: i thank my collea gue for

3:24:29 to 3:24:41( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: yielding again to me. we don't have time to waste. this is the point. we have proposals to utilize more of our own energy here. we can do it. we just need to make ourselves realize that is a better answer

3:24:41 to 3:24:59( Edit History Discussion )

Thad Cochran: than pushing the dates farther -- further along when we do nothing, do nothing, say we're doing something, but not really getting at the problem. unless we produce more of what we need here at home,