Dan Burton

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Well, it's 9 o'clock, it's a Wednesday night, and 2 days from now we will all be home for 5 weeks and Congress will not have acted on many pieces of legislation that deal with the energy crisis. While we are home talking to our constituents and doing things that we have to do back in our districts, the people of the United States of America will continue to pay $4, $5 a gallon for gasoline. They will have to take money away from other important areas of their homes; food, clothing, whatever it might be, so they can put enough gasoline in the car to get to and from work or to take the kids to school. I think that is tragic, Madam Speaker. This Congress should be doing something immediately to lower the price of gasoline and oil. A few days ago, I think last week, the President of the United States removed the executive moratorium on drilling offshore. As soon as he did that, the price of oil per barrel dropped. Likewise, just in the last couple of days, the price of gasoline dropped. If the Congress of the United States were to act likewise to remove the moratorium on drilling offshore on the Continental Shelf, the price of gasoline would drop I believe dramatically in a very short period of time. But we are not going to do that. We are going to leave here in the next 2 days without doing a darn thing. The American people sit at home, 70, 75 percent of them saying, Why in the world don't you drill? Why don't you drill here in America. Why are you sending all that money overseas, $700 billion a year to the Saudis and to others who aren't really our best friends? Why not keep that money at home; why not drill here; why not become energy independent so we don't have to worry about the rest of the world and what they are doing. But we are not going to do that. We are going to leave here without doing a darn thing. Now, there are a number of bills pending before the Congress that have been introduced that would solve the problem, but none of them have seen the light of day and none are going to see the light of day between now and when we leave. Today, a bipartisan group headed by Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii and John Peterson of Pennsylvania, about 15 or 20 Members, bipartisan, introduced a bill that had a lot of compromises in it that would have dealt with this problem of energy independence and would have helped lower the price of energy and gasoline. It was a multifaceted bill. It dealt with solar energy. It dealt with wind energy. It dealt with cars that use all kinds of fuel, the hybrid cars, the hydrogen powered cars. It gave tax credits to encourage the people around this country and the industries around this country to move on wind-driven energy and solar energy and other forms of energy that we are not dealing with right now. In particular, it dealt with the drilling off the continental shelf. It did not talk about ANWR, because that was one of the areas where there was some disagreement. So in order to go ahead and move forward with an energy bill, this bipartisan group decided they wouldn't put the ANWR issue in there, but they would go ahead with the continental shelf exploration. They said that 25 miles off the continental shelf from the shore would not be explored, and 25 to 50 miles offshore the States would have the right to decline to drill should they want to do that. But it was a giant step forward, and they moved this bill today to the committees of jurisdiction and we should be acting on that. If we don't act on it between now and when we leave on Friday, we should certainly be acting on it in September. Now, today we had a vote up or down on whether or not we should adjourn for 5 weeks starting this Friday until September. The vote passed by one vote. Democrats, many Democrats, and almost all the Republicans voted not to leave this body until we dealt with the energy crisis, and it failed by one vote. So the people of this country saw today that a large number of the people in this body that represent them in the Congress want to deal with the energy crisis, but the majority, the Speaker of the House, once again blocked this effort, and I think that is very unfortunate. It is extremely important that we move on this before we leave in September. The people in this country are going to suffer for another 2 months, and we really need to do something about that before we adjourn for the rest of the year at the end of September, as has been told to us is going to be the case. We have enough energy in this country to be energy independent. We have enough oil to be energy independent. We have enough gas to be energy independent. We have enough coal shale to be energy independent. We are not doing anything to deal with the problem, and the American people know it. So I would just like to say tonight, Madam Speaker, before we leave, that this is intolerable, what we are doing. The American people want action. They want the gas prices down, they want the energy prices down, and it is within our power to get the job done, but we are not doing it. So I would like to urge the leadership in this House, the majority in this House, as well as the minority in this House, to move rapidly; to move rapidly on an energy bill between now and when we leave on September 30th. This is one of the most important issues, it is the most important issue that we are dealing with this session. Madam Speaker, I think it is unconscionable that we have not yet dealt with it.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, another week has gone by, and we have taken no action whatsoever, no action whatsoever to solve the energy crisis. I listened to the majority leader during the 1-minute talking about what's going on next week as far as legislative action is concerned, and he said that even if there were more oil leases available, he said there are no drills available. Well, if there are no drills available and the oil companies feel that there is oil down there, they are going to make drills that would be available. The problem is on the oil leases that are available right now, the oil companies aren't finding sufficient oil to be able to put up a $2 billion oil platform to drill, and we are only using 3 percent of our Outer Continental Shelf for drilling purposes and for these leases. If we make more of the continental shelf available these oil companies are going to get out there, they are going to get these oil leases, and they will find oil. Geologically they will survey it. They will find oil, and they will drill. They will find the drilling capacity, they will find the drilling equipment, they will build the $2 billion platforms, and they will drill. But they will have to make sure it's economically feasible, or they won't do that. You know, if we have more production, we are going to have lower gas prices, there is just no question about that. Every week that we go out of here like today, we are ending another week, we are going home, we haven't done anything to increase the supply which will lead to lower gas prices and lower energy prices. I listened to the hyperbole during these talks on the floor. I listened to everybody giving reasons why we are not doing this or why we are not doing that, and the fact of the matter is we are not doing anything, and the American people are still suffering. They are spending $70, $80, $90 just to fill their gas tanks. They don't know what they are going to do. They can't get to work, they can't take their kids to school. It's affecting everything that we buy, our clothes, our food, everything. As a result, we are facing not only energy problems, we are facing an economic problem, an inflationary problem. We are not doing a darn thing about it. We need to drill wherever we can to find oil, in the ANWR, if necessary, off the continental shelf. We need to open up the other 97 percent of the continental shelf to drilling. If we do that I guarantee you, I guarantee there will be leases, and the oil companies will find the platforms necessary and the drilling equipment necessary to drill for that oil. If they can make money doing it, they are going to do it. The leases they have right now, if they are not going to find oil down there, it's not sufficient, they are not going to put a $2 billion platform down there and drill for that oil. That's why we need to open up more of these areas of the continental shelf for drilling. Remember, and I hope the American people listen to this, 97 percent of the continental shelf is not being explored or even allowed to be explored. That's terrible. We know we need energy, and we are sending $700 billion to the Saudis, to South America and other countries when we had that energy right here in America. Somebody said, well, it will take 10 years to get that oil to market if we drill for it. Well, I don't think it will take that long, but let's say it does. We need to get started sometime, and we were going to start in the 1970s, and we didn't do anything. We are in a worse situation today than when we had the oil embargo. We need to start. We need to move toward energy independence. I will submit to you that before the end of this session, before September 30, we have an opportunity to end the moratorium on drilling off the continental shelf and elsewhere. The moratorium on drilling off on the continental shelf and elsewhere in this country expires September 30. The only way that moratorium can continue is if we pass legislation to continue it. So I believe, and I know that there will be legislation before this body and the end of September that will extend that moratorium. I would like to say to my colleagues, both Democrat and Republicans, we need to vote against that moratorium extension. If it's in a spending bill or any other kind of a bill, we need to stop that bill from being passed as long as that moratorium is in there, because the American people are demanding, demanding that we do something about this energy crisis. They are demanding that we move toward energy independence. They want alternative fuels. They want alternative sources of energy. They want solar, they want wind, they want all of that. We have seen all of that on television, but during this transition period, they want energy. The only way we are going to get it is to drill for gas and oil. We can do that if we end that moratorium. I would like to say to my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, let's get together in the next month, end that moratorium, not allow any legislation to go through that will extend that moratorium, so we can move toward energy independence. If you don't believe that the people in this country are concerned about it, go to any gas station in this country, the next week when you are home or next weekend when you are home, and you will find that everybody is madder than hell about this. I was getting gas the other day, and I heard a guy say to his child, ``Come here, son, do you want to help me spend some of your college education?'' I am not kidding. He didn't know I was there. He had a pickup truck, and he said to his son, ``Come here, I want you to see how we are spending part of your college education.'' We need to move toward energy independence, we need to drill, and we need to do it now.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I think the American people are not aware of is that on September 30, the moratorium on drilling for oil offshore on the continental shelf will expire. And when that expires, this Congress will have to vote once again to extend that moratorium. Now most Americans are saying, well, what in the world does that have to do with me? The cost of gasoline is now over $4 per gallon. People that go to fill up their gas tank are spending $70 to $80 or even more dollars per tankful to get their car filled up to go to and from work and to run their kids to school. If we are allowed to drill off the continental shelf, it's my belief, and the belief of most of the Members of this body, that the price per barrel of oil will begin to drop precipitously, and that translates into lower prices at the gas pump for gasoline, which will be a benefit for every person in this country that drives a car. But in addition, it will have a positive impact on the purchase of goods and services around this country. Food, clothing and everything else is transported by truck. And tonight, what I would do if I were talking to the American people, I would ask them to contact every Senator and Congressman in both Chambers, and if I were talking to them, I would ask them to tell their Congressman and Senators to eliminate that moratorium. The minute that moratorium is removed, we will be able to drill for oil and gasoline off the continental shelf. Right now, we're prohibited from doing that. And as a result, the price of gasoline, oil and gas products continue to go through the roof. It's time that we move toward energy independence, Mr. Speaker. And the American people, if you talked to any of them at the parades that took place over the Fourth of July, or any other meetings that take place, the town meetings, they're all telling us, do something about the price of gasoline. Do something about the price of energy. Make us energy independent. Drill in America. Drill anywhere. But lower the price of energy and make us energy independent. We have the ability within the next 60 days to remove the moratorium on drilling offshore on the continental shelf. We can do that. All we have to do is not pass a bill that extends that moratorium. Now, Mr. Speaker, the American people are clamoring for that. They want the cost of gasoline to go down. They want the cost of energy to go down. They want us to be energy independent. Every place we go, they're saying drill here, drill there, drill anywhere, but lower the price of energy and get us to energy independence. We have the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to do that within the next 60 days. And so, once again, Mr. Speaker, I know I can't talk to the American people. But if I were talking to the American people, I would say, call your Congressman, call your Senator, and tell them to not extend the moratorium on drilling offshore on the continental shelf. Because if they do that, Mr. Speaker, then the price of gasoline and energy will go down, and we will move rapidly toward energy independence. And that is what everybody wants.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, Sunday July 20, 2008, marked the 34th anniversary of the day in 1974 when Turkey intervened to stop an ethnic cleansing campaign against Turkish Cypriots by militant Greek Cypriots. Over the course of the next few days I am sure that a number of my colleagues will come to the floor of this Chamber to lament the so-called ``invasion'' of Cyprus. I have said this before and I say it again, I am deeply concerned when I hear some of my colleagues throwing barbs at the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey in an attempt to lay all the blame for this complicated issue at their doorstep. The truth is that an unbiased examination of the facts leads to a different conclusion; and by distorting the facts, by continuing to perpetuate the myth that Turkish Cypriots and Turkey are solely to blame for this incident, I fear that such statements only undermine the good faith efforts of the United States, the European Union and other members of the international community to finally see this conflict resolved; and to see peace and prosperity come to all the people of Cyprus. Tragically, an historic opportunity to resolve the crisis was lost when the Annan Plan, a UN- brokered proposal to settle the dispute, was soundly defeated by the Greek Cypriots in April 2004. Although the plan had broad support from the international community, and was ratified by the Turkish Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots inexplicably rejected the proposal by a 3 to 1 margin. Those individuals and special interest groups who adhere to the ``blame Turkey'' school of thought on the status of Cyprus seem to ignore the irony of the fact that when offered the chance to vote for peace, it was the Greek and not the Turkish side that rejected peace. After the referendum, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported to the Security Council that ``the Turkish Cypriot vote has undone any rationale for pressuring and isolating them;'' he called for all Security Council members to ``give a strong lead to all States to cooperate both bilaterally and in international bodies, to eliminate unnecessary restrictions and barriers that have the effect of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development.'' Unfortunately, while the Greek Cypriots became full members of the European Union, little changed for the Turkish Cypriots and their economic and political isolation continues to this day. Despite the Greek Cypriots' failure to embrace peace and the international community's failure to end the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots; Turkish Cypriots continued to seek a just and a peaceful settlement to this crisis. Unfortunately, the issue was at a virtual standstill until recent elections in southern Cyprus brought a new Greek leadership to the forefront who seems more willing to reach a settlement. In fact, the two leaders in Cyprus, Greek Cypriot Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot Mehmet Ali Talat, met on July 1, 2008 and achieved a remarkable breakthrough by striking an agreement in principle on the issue of a single sovereignty and citizenship. They also agreed to meet again on July 25th to prepare for the first full- fledged negotiations in four years. United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Daniel Fried, who has followed the talks closely, has said that: ``There's a chance . . . that we will be moving forward again in a way we haven't in some time.'' He has also hinted that the Administration is considering appointing a special envoy to Cyprus. Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Greek and Turkish Cypriot Leaders for their recent courageous steps; and I sincerely hope that when they meet again a few days from today that they will get down to the real work of reshaping Cyprus into a peaceful island that respects human rights and the fundamental freedoms for all Cypriots. I also sincerely hope that all of my colleagues will learn from their example and join with me to end the `blame game,' and instead advocate for an even handed approach to the thorny issue that is Cyprus, an approach that recognizes the fundamental equality of all Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the ``Relief Now on the Road to Renewable Energy Act of 2008.'' I believe this bill will provide relief now from soaring gasoline prices and also accelerate our pace down the road to alternative energy and energy independence. Few things affect American consumers like high energy prices. Higher gas prices strain the budgets of America's working families, raise the cost of goods and services, increase harvest costs for America's farmers, and negatively impact the economy and the livelihood of working Americans. According to the latest figures from the Department of Energy, the retail cost of a gallon of gasoline breaks down as follows: 53 percent--Crude Oil. 19 percent--Refining. (This component varies from region to region due to the different formulations required in different parts of the country.) 9 percent--Marketing and Distribution. 19 percent--taxes. (This component also varies depending upon whether States have also enacted sales tax on gasoline and whether local counties and cities have levied their own gasoline excise or sales tax.) As you can see, the single biggest factor affecting the price of gasoline is the cost of a barrel of oil; oil which largely comes from politically unstable regions of the world, such as the Persian Gulf, Nigeria and Venezuela. Unfortunately, we find ourselves so heavily dependent upon these expensive sources of oil because decade after decade Congress has established legislative and regulatory roadblocks to prevent exploration for and refining of domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. I believe it is time to invest more now into conservation and energy efficiency. My bill, for example, includes provisions that would increase alternative energy sources and diversify the energy grid with currently available alternative energy technologies. As a nation, we waste far too much energy with inefficient engines and machines. That is why my bill provides tax incentives for companies to produce fuel efficient vehicles. In fact, it provides a $1,000 tax credit for individuals who purchase hybrid cars produced by American corporations. I believe that as we work with the market demand, these energy- efficient changes will work to stimulate domestic economic growth. The fact of the matter is that wind and solar power cannot bring down the cost of the gasoline we need to power our cars, trucks, planes, trains, boats and power plants while we are developing greater efficiency. The cost of gasoline is a simple economic debate, oil supply and demand. We need more supply. The answer, I believe, is to end our dependence on expensive foreign oil by developing our own domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. My bill will open up new areas for oil and gas exploration. For example, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) holds the single largest deposit of oil in the entire United States. Its 10.4 billion barrels of oil is more than double the proven reserves of the entire State of Texas and almost half of the total proven reserves in the U.S. (22 billion barrels). Had President Clinton not vetoed ANWR energy production in 1995, the United States could be getting nearly 1.5 million barrels of oil per day from the Arctic right now. There are also vast oil and gas deposits along our coastlines that are completely off limits to development because of government interference. In fact, the Department of the Interior (DOI) conducted a comprehensive inventory of oil and natural gas resources located off our coastlines within the last 2 years. According to the Department of the Interior there is an estimated 8.5 billion barrels of known oil reserves and 29.3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of known natural gas reserves along our coastlines; with 82 percent of the oil and 95 percent of the gas located in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). However, even more importantly, the Department of the Interior estimates that there are untapped resources of about 86 billion barrels (51 percent in the Gulf of Mexico) and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (55 percent in the Gulf of Mexico) out there. Similarly, the U.S. has been called the Saudi Arabia of oil shale. It has been estimated that oil shale deposits in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming hold the equivalent of as little as 1.8 trillion barrels of oil and potentially as much as 8 trillion barrels of oil. In comparison, Saudi Arabia reportedly holds proved reserves of 267 billion barrels. Unfortunately, oil shale is roughly equivalent to diesel fuel and a number of Clean Air Act regulations--such as low- sulfur diesel--and Federal motor fuel taxes, which favor gasoline over diesel fuels--have created a strong financial disincentive regarding the production and use of oil shale fuels. In addition, many of these deposits are on public land making it more bureaucratically complicated to exploit this resource. My bill provides a financial incentive for companies to invest in and produce more oil from oil shale. Getting more domestic oil on the market is only half the solution. We haven't built a new refinery in this country in more than 25 years because the approval process for new refinery construction is estimated to require up to 800 different permits. While existing refineries have undergone significant expansion over the years, even as others have been shuttered, our aging refinery infrastructure leaves little margin for error. If we begin to produce more domestic crude oil we would need to turn it into home heating oil, gasoline, or diesel through the refining process. The ability to refine oil must keep pace with the demand for gasoline and diesel. My bill would expedite the construction of new refining capacity by streamlining the permitting process and opening up closed military bases for construction. Clearly, developing new oil fields and refineries will take some time. In the interim my bill will help promote the switch to flexfuel and hybrid cars and trucks; extend important alternative energy tax credits; and provide individuals and truckers a vitally needed fuel price tax relief package. It also opens up land for the production of biofuel crops in order to provide relief from high food prices as a result of ethanol production. Again, I believe in conservation, I believe in energy efficiency, and I believe in diversifying our energy supply by using wind, solar, coal- to-liquid technologies, ethanol and other renewable energy sources. But the fact of the matter is that oil and natural gas are still going to be a part of our energy mix for a long time to come and we must give our constituents some relief now.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I think everybody in America knows that we import an exorbitant amount of the oil that we use in this country. We are dependent on oil from the Middle East. We are dependent on oil from South America, from Venezuela and elsewhere. And as a result, we are at the mercy of these countries if they decide to cut back on the amount of oil that they are selling to this country or if OPEC decides to raise the price per barrel of oil. As a result of our dependency on foreign oil, we now see gasoline at the pump of between $4 and $5 per gallon. And everybody in this country, in fact, almost everybody, about 70 percent of people in recent polls, have said they want America to move towards energy independence. They want us to drill here in the United States. They want us to drill offshore on the continental shelf. They want us to drill in ANWR up in Alaska. They want us to use coal share converted into oil for energy. And they want us to drill for natural gas. But unfortunately, we are not going to do it because we can't get the votes in the House or the Senate to get this job done. Now today we had a meeting. And we found out that in addition to our dependency on foreign oil from sources like Saudi Arabia or Venezuela or elsewhere in the world, we find out that from Nigeria we import almost 37 percent of our sweet crude oil, which is the preferable kind of oil you want for many of the refineries on the east coast because they can convert that in an easier way into gasoline to be sold at the pump. Now if they have to rely on heavier crude oil, as I understand it, they won't be able to convert that because they are not geared up for that. They are used to using, and the refineries are geared to using the sweet crude oil. So as a result, we see 37 percent of the sweet crude oil coming from Nigeria and almost 1 million barrels of oil a day coming from that country. And they have problems over there right now we found out today, Mr. Speaker. They have rebel groups that are stealing as much as 500,000 barrels of oil a day and selling it on the world market to put into their own pockets. And if they decide to go further into the pockets of Nigeria, they can dig into the 1 million barrels of oil that we receive from Nigeria a day. And that is about 9 percent of the oil that we get from around the world. The reason I'm bringing all this up is that we are dependent on Saudi Arabia. We are dependent on Venezuela. We are dependent on Canada. And we are dependent on Mexico. And now I find that we are dependent on Nigeria for about 9 percent of the oil we have, which is about 37 percent of the sweet crude oil we get, which is the preferable kind of oil that we need for refining on the east coast of this country. We are dependent on the rest of the world. And the price of gasoline at the pump is between $4 and $4.50 a gallon. And if there is a disruption because of OPEC or what goes on in Nigeria, we could see the cost of gasoline per gallon go to $5, $6 or $7 a gallon. And the American people and our economy cannot stand that kind of a price for gasoline. People are spending $70, $80 or $90 for one tank of gasoline. And seniors and people that live in rural areas and business people trying to get to and from work cannot afford that. We can't afford the cost of getting food to the marketplace and for us to buy it without raising the price of these products. Everything is going up because of the price of oil. And we find that we can be energy independent in this country. We can move rapidly toward energy independence if we drill off the continental shelf and Alaska, and drill for natural gas and convert coal shale into oil. We can be energy independent, and we don't have to depend on the rest of the world. And the American people, Mr. Speaker, need to contact their Congressmen and their Senators and tell them that we need to move toward energy independence. We need to drill here in America. We can get the job done. We're a can-do country. And we need to get with it right away.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I won't speak very long. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I really appreciate the information that my Democrat colleagues have been bringing out night after night on alternative sources of energy. I just learned a little bit more about geothermal energy than I did, and I would like to have that right next to my house. But the problem, as I see it right now, is how do we deal with bringing the price of gasoline down, and what do we do in the case of a national emergency? The former chairman of the Energy Committee, Mr. Barton, was talking about what would happen if there was an emergency and how we would utilize this Strategic Oil Reserve. My concern is what would happen if a major supplier of the United States and the rest of the world could not supply that oil? Right now, and I spoke about this the other night, there is a lot of unrest in the Middle East. There is concern about Iran developing a nuclear weapon. And they have been working on a program for some time. Israel just flew a mission the other day about 2 weeks ago where they had over 100 planes fly the length down the Mediterranean that it would be to fly from Israel to Tehran. And so there is the possibility that none of us want to see occur where there could be a major confrontation over there. If you sink two or three ships in the Persian Gulf in the Straits of Hormuz, you're going to have a terrible problem in getting maybe 20 percent of the world's oil supply to market. And we get a lot of our oil from there. And so I think we ought to look at the long-term problems that we face in this country while we're converting to other forms of energy, which I agree with you we should be doing. But oil is going to be with us for a while. And we're going to need that energy, as you said, for aircraft, transportation, for trucks and other things as we make this transition. And during that period of time, we need to be thinking about what we are going to do to protect this country strategically in the event of a conflict during this transition period. And that is why I think that this bipartisan group that started meeting tonight is talking about trying to get everybody together to come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with the energy problem and the gas prices, that we look at that. We look at the problems that occur not only today but what might occur a month from now, 2 months from now, 1 year from now, or 3 or 4 years from now. And during this period of transition when we want to move to cleaner- burning fuels, we need to have the energy here in America. I appreciate everything that you are bringing up, but I also am concerned about the security of this Nation. And right now we are so dependent on foreign oil, if we have a problem in certain parts of the world, we will have an even higher price for a gallon of gasoline. That is why I believe we should expand our drilling opportunities out on the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR. I appreciate this discussion tonight. I think we should be doing this on a regular basis.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, we realize that we need to start looking at every source of energy that we can come up with; solar, wind. Every kind. We need to move toward new forms of transportation; hybrid cars and other vehicles, maybe hydrogen-powered cars. But in addition to that, while this transition from fossil fuels is taking place to these new technologies, we need to drill for oil. We need to be energy independent. We need to use such things as coal shale and offshore drilling, and drilling in Alaska, the ANWR, in order to get the oil that is necessary for us to move and become energy independent, and we can do that. But this Congress and the Senate, this House and the Senate, really needs to get together and come up with a plan that covers all of these things. If we don't start drilling for oil and using fossil fuel more efficiently in this country, we are going to have a severe problem. The Iranians just fired some test missiles the other day. They did that in response to the Israelis flying about a hundred war planes down the Mediterranean for a distance that was pretty close to Tehran's distance from Israel. I think they are both sending signals. The head of the air force for the Iranians said that if there was any kind of an act of war toward them, they would sink ships in the Persian Gulf. Twenty percent of the world oil goes through the Persian Gulf. You sink two ships in the Gulf of Hormuz and you're going to have chaos. We get as much as 40 percent of our oil from that region. If anything like that occurs, and as long as Iran keeps working toward their nuclear goals of building a nuclear weapon, the threat of war is definitely there. Israel has been threatened with extinction by the Iranian leaders, Ahmadinejad, the President, and so the threat of a conflict is definitely there. The United States economically would be devastated if we weren't prepared for that eventuality because we don't have the energy here necessary to keep this economy moving. The best way to make sure that doesn't happen is to use every source of energy we can come up with. While we are transitioning to these other forms of energy like air, wind, like solar, like hybrid cars, like coal shale, like hydrogen-powered cars, all those things, while we are moving toward those, which is going to take probably at least 10 years, or longer, some people say as many as 20, we need to have the energy to keep this country afloat without depending on Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Venezuela and the Communist leader down there, Mr. Chavez. We need to move toward energy independence. The American people are paying between $4 and $5 a gallon for oil. The Fourth of July parades just took place and I know that all of my colleagues heard from their constituents: Do something about the price of gasoline. The best thing we can do is start drilling and looking for energy in America. I believe, and I think many experts believe, that if we start drilling in America and make a movement toward energy independence, you will see the price of oil drop very rapidly and, along with it, the price of gasoline. But as long as we stand around here and don't do anything, we run the threat of a real economic chaos in this country because we aren't prepared to be dealing with our own energy problems if we can't get the oil from Venezuela and from other parts of the world, like Saudi Arabia. We are just not prepared for it. We have the energy in this country and we are not drilling for it. We are sending as much as $500 million a day, a day, to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela for oil that we have right here in this country. We could keep that money at home, we could create more jobs while we are coming up with alternative sources of energy. But we are not doing it. So I say to my Democrat colleagues again tonight, and I will be down here day after day and week after week saying, Let's get together and solve this problem. I saw that the popularity of the Congress is now down to 7 percent. You know why? The American people are fed up with us not doing anything. We need to get together and solve this energy problem. We need to have energy independence. And we need to start doing it right now. Remember what I said. If a conflict breaks out over there, all of us are going to be sorry that we didn't do something about it, about dealing with energy here at home. Energy independence. Drill in America.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I would like to say to the gentlewoman who just spoke that I sure share her admiration for Jesse Helms. I had the honor to work with him on legislation known as the Helms-Burton law, and I want you to know he was a wonderful man, a titan and a real conservative, and the kind of man that everybody in America could be proud to say that he was a Senator in the august body on the other side of the building. Let me just say briefly today that we just celebrated the 4th of July, known as Independence Day, and we celebrate that because we became an independent Nation after the Revolutionary War by winning that war and becoming not a colony of Great Britain, but a United States of America, an independent country. Our Declaration of Independence. Now we are faced with another problem. It is called energy dependence. We are dependent on Saudi Arabia, we are dependent on other countries in the Middle East, we are dependent on countries in South America like Venezuela that are not friends of ours, and we ought to be moving toward energy independence. Any of my colleagues who were out marching in parades during the 4th of July recess ought to know that the people they were talking to on those parade routes were saying, hey, we don't want gasoline at $4 or $5 a gallon. We don't need to have gasoline at $4 or $5 a gallon, because we can drill right here in the United States and get enough oil or gas or other energy products so we can be energy independent. All we have to do is start. The problem is in this body and the other body on the other side of the building, they will not move, the majority will not move on drilling here in the United States. We could drill in the ANWR in Alaska and get 1 to 2 million barrels of oil a day. We could drill off the continental shelf and get 1 or 2 million barrels of oil a day. We have about a 400 or 500 year supply of natural gas. And we are not doing anything. We are not drilling. We are sending $400 or $500 million a day over to Saudi Arabia and to Venezuela and South America for oil that we could produce right mere in America. It is costing us jobs, it is costing us energy, it is causing food price hikes, the price of anything else that you buy that is transported by truck in this country, and the people going to and from work or paying $4 or $5 a gallon or $70 or $80 or $90 for one tankful. They can't survive. The economy will continue to go down if we don't do something about these energy prices. And we are not going to do it until we allow this country to drill, this government to drill in places like the ANWR and off the Continental Shelf, and use the coal shale that we have here in abundance to produce our own energy. We can do it. The people of America by about an 80 percent margin say drill now, drill in America, lower those gas prices. And we are not doing it. We just celebrated our declaration of independence from Great Britain. It is high time we had a declaration of independence regarding our energy. We need to drill here in America, we need to drill in the ANWR, we need to drill offshore and become energy independent. It is time. And I hope all of my colleagues will sign my good friend, Mr. Westmoreland from Georgia's petition over here that will let everybody know in this country, all of their constituents know that they are committed to drilling in America to get energy prices down. He is going to take a one-hour special order here pretty quick telling everybody why we should be drilling here in America. So if I were talking to people across this country, Madam Speaker, I would say call your Congressman, call your Senator, and tell them to sign Mr. Westmoreland's petition so we can move toward energy independence. It is high time. We should do it now.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Let me just say to my good friend, Congressman Westmoreland from Georgia, I am so happy that you are going to all this trouble to get all of our colleagues to sign this petition. And if you're at 191, you're not too far short of 218. And when you get 218, I will join with you to go to the Speaker and show her that we have 218 signatures--or you do--and that they ought to bring this to the floor for a vote because a majority of the House wants this done. You know, we passed another week. A week has gone by since you and I, I think, last were on the floor. And everybody's going home for the 4th of July recess--they're going to be in parades, they're going to be on radio, they're going to have town meetings--and we haven't done anything about reducing the price of gasoline or moving toward energy independence. And so I, like you, if I were talking to the American people right now, I would say, when your Congressman or your Senator is in that parade, I want you to talk to them strongly and say, we want you to drill in America. We want you to move us toward energy independence. We've been talking about it since Jimmy Carter was President 30-something years ago, and we aren't doing anything. And that's why we're dependent on foreign oil and that's why gasoline prices are over $4 because we aren't producing the oil here, we're sending it overseas. We're sending over $400 million a day to Saudi Arabia to pay for oil that we're using. We could use that money right here in America, and it would help create jobs and expand our economy. We're sending $125 million a day to President Chavez in Venezuela, who's trying to move every country in this hemisphere toward communism and who is a good friend of the Castro brothers, Fidel and his brother Raul. We have big problems here because we aren't drilling in America. And we need to have everybody in this country contact their Congressman and Senator and say, hey, listen, get with the program, it's time for us to move toward energy independence. We can't have this economy of ours suffer anymore. I would like to enter into the Record, Madam Speaker, if I might, a letter that was sent by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. These are the experts that say there is oil here, we ought to drill here, and here's how we ought to do it and here's how we ought to explore. And when you read this letter--which is now going to be put in the record--it tells very clearly that drilling costs for one well onshore costs a half a million dollars, and offshore it can cost up to $25 million. And so these geologists, when they get these permits to drill in a certain area, they go out to make darn sure that there's oil there before they sink a well that's going to cost $25 million. And that's an exploratory well. And it's a half million dollars if you drill onshore. So we're talking about big money. And when you realize that 68 percent of the people who drill for oil are independent drillers, they're not the big oil companies, and 87 percent of the people who drill for gas are not the big oil and gas companies, they're individual people who have small companies, and if they find oil they're going to get it, and if they find gas they're going to get it. And so this idea that these permits are not being researched and looked at is just crazy. And when you read what the American Association of Petroleum Geologists said, and the President is a Mr. Willard Green, you realize that these people want to get oil and gas out of the ground, they want to get it out of the offshore sites on the Continental Shelf, and they can't do it simply because they don't have the ability to pursue these permits. Only 3 percent of the area offshore is available for permitting and for drilling for oil; 97 percent of the Continental Shelf isn't being touched. And we have about 80 percent onshore that's not being touched. We ought to explore every place we can to move this country toward energy independence. We ought to remove ourselves from being dependent on Saudi Arabia, who isn't really a friend of ours, and on Venezuela, which really isn't a friend of ours, and other countries that aren't friends of ours. We ought to really move towards energy independence. And the minute we announce we're going to do that, we're going to drill on these sites, I'm sure the American people realize the price of oil is going to go down. The competitive nature of the free enterprise system and supply and demand will force the price of oil down, and it means the price of gasoline will go down as well. June 3, 2008. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. John Boehner, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority leader Hoyer, and Minority Leader Boehner: Given the on-going debate about access and leasing activity on federal onshore lands and the Outer Continental Shelf, I would like to offer some perspective, on behalf of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), on the science and process of finding oil and natural gas. AAPG, an international geoscience organization, is the world's largest professional geological society representing over 33,000 members; The purpose of AAPG is to advance the science of geology, foster scientific research, promote technology and advance the well-being of its members. With members in 116 countries, more than two-thirds of whom work and reside in the United States, AAPG serves as a voice for the shared interests of energy geologists and geophysicists in our profession worldwide. AAPG strives to increase public awareness of the crucial role that the geosciences, and particularly petroleum and energy-related geology, play in our society. Finding and developing oil and natural gas blends science, engineering, and economics. It has distinct phases: exploration, development. and production. And it is risky, because finding oil and natural gas traps, places where oil and natural gas migrate and concentrate, buried under thousands of feet of rock is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Talent and technology increase our chances of a discovery, but there are no guarantees. What is exploration? Well, the grid pattern on a block map makes it tempting to think of exploration as a process of simply drilling a well in each grid block to determine whether it contains oil. But because of the natural variation in regional geology, one cannot assume oil and natural gas are evenly distributed across a given lease or region, Rather, exploration is about unraveling the geologic history of the rock underneath that grid block, trying to understand where oil or natural gas may have formed and where it migrated. If the geology isn't right, you won't find oil or natural gas. Legendary geologist Wallace Pratt once observed, ``Where oil is first found is in the minds of men.'' When preparing a lease bid, geologists use their knowledge to identify the specific areas in a region that they believe have the highest likelihood of containing oil and natural gas traps. Successful exploration begins with an idea--a hypothesis of where oil may be found. Since exploration is about developing and testing ideas, some acreage available for leasing is never leased. That is because no one develops a compelling idea of why oil or natural gas should be there. Similarly, some acreage is leased and drilled repeatedly with no success. Then, one day, a geologist develops an idea that works, resulting in new oil or natural gas production from the same land that others dismissed as barren. Once a lease is awarded, geologists begin an intensive assessment. They collect new geological, geophysical, and geochemical data to better understand the geology in their lease area. They use these data to construct a geological model that best explains where they think oil and natural gas were generated, where it may have been trapped, and whether the trap is big enough to warrant drilling. If there is no evidence of a suitable trap, the explorer will relinquish the lease and walk away. If they see a trap that looks interesting, they schedule a drill rig to find out if they are right. Drilling is the true test of the geologists' model, and it isn't a decision to be made lightly. Drilling costs for a single well can range from $0.5 million for shallow onshore wells to over $25 million for tests in deep water offshore. As the well is drilling, geologists continually collect and evaluate data to see whether they conform to their expectations based on the geological model. Eventually, they reach the rock layer where they think the trap is located. If there is no oil or natural gas when the drill reaches the trap they were targeting, they've drilled a dry hole. At this point the explorers will evaluate why the hole is dry: was there never oil and gas here; how was the geological model wrong; and can it be improved based on what they know from the drilled well? Depending on the results of this analysis, they may tweak the exploration idea and drill another well or decide the idea failed and relinquish the lease. If there is oil and/or natural gas, they've drilled a discovery. Typically, they will test the well to see what volumes of oil and/or natural gas flow from it. Sometimes the flow rates do not justify further expenditures and the well is abandoned. If the results are promising, they will usually drill several additional wells to better define the size and shape of the trap. All of these data improve the geological model. Based on this revised geological model, engineers plan how to develop the new field (e.g., number of production wells to drill, construction of oil field facilities and pipelines). Using complex economic tools, they must decide whether the revenue from the oil and natural gas sales will exceed the past and continuing expenses to decide whether it is a commercial discovery. The process of leasing, evaluating, drilling, and developing an oil or natural gas field typically takes five to ten years. Some fields come online sooner. Others are delayed by permitting or regulatory delays or constraints in the availability of data acquisition and drilling equipment and crews. Large projects and those in deep water may require a decade or more to ramp up to full production. As you can see, oil and natural gas exploration is not simple and it is not easy. It requires geological ingenuity, advanced technologies, and the time to do the job right. It also requires access to areas where exploration ideas can be tested--the greater the number of areas available for exploration, the higher the chance of finding oil and natural gas traps. U.S. consumers are burdened by high crude oil prices. Conservation and efficiency improvements are necessary responses, but equally important is increasing long-term supply from stable parts of the world, such as our very own federal lands and Outer Continental Shelf. As Congress considers measures to deal with high crude oil prices, I urge caution. Policies that increase exploration costs, decrease the available time to properly evaluate leases and restrict access to federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf do not provide the American people with short-term relief from high prices and undermine the goal of increasing stable long-term supplies. I am happy to further discuss these ideas. Please contact me through our Geoscience & Energy Office in Washington, D.C. at 202-684-8225 or 202-355-3415. Sincerely, Willard R. (Will) Green, President, American Assoication of Petroleum Geologists. And when they talk about these speculators, there are people that speculate in gas futures and oil futures, there is no question about that. But the minute we say we're going to drill here in this country, you watch those prices drop; you watch those speculators start getting out of the market and selling what they have. And that will force the price down on oil, it will force down the price of gasoline, and it will help this country. And let me just say to my colleague--and I really appreciate him yielding to me--if we don't get with the program, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the Senate and the House don't work with us on this side of the aisle, we're going to end up with gasoline prices being $5 or more per gallon. And if we have a conflict in the Middle East, as we've heard talked about here tonight, it could go much higher than that. That will put extreme pressure on this economy. And I hate to predict this, but I really believe that if we don't get control of this situation and start drilling onshore and offshore in our territory, I think we could have a severe economic recession in this country. And when I say severe, I mean severe. The price of food is going up rapidly, the price of gasoline is going up rapidly. The price of products that are shipped across this country, which is almost--everything is going up very rapidly, and we're not doing a darn thing about it because we're depending on the Saudis. We had Senators go over to the Saudis just recently and ask them to open up more oil fields so we can buy more of their oil. Why are we doing that? Why aren't we drilling in America so we don't have to depend on foreign oil? It makes absolutely no sense to send billions and billions and billions of dollars overseas and to other countries that don't even like us when we won't even drill here in the United States. And so I am so happy that my colleague has taken the time and the effort to get the message out to our colleagues that they ought to sign onto this petition. And I know he feels like I do--and we come down here night after night talking to each other--that we would like, if we could talk to the American people, to put pressure on their Congressmen and Senators to sign onto this policy of drilling in America, to sign this petition so we can move toward energy independence. If we do that, and I would say this to my American friends all across this country, if we do that, you watch the price of gasoline go down. It will go down like a rock. You will see gasoline below $3 before you know it. But we have to say that we're going to drill for oil in this country, onshore and offshore. The minute we do that, America, just watch these prices go down. But first of all, we have to get this body and the other body, the House and the Senate, to get together and say, okay, we're going to drill. And we can't do that unless the American people put pressure on their Congressmen and Senators to sign on. You have done yeoman service to this country, Congressman Westmoreland, because you've got 191 Members that have already signed that. And I'm going to work with you to get 218. And as I said before, the minute you get 218, I will walk with you to the Speaker's office and say, hey, it's time to bring this to the floor. You're doing good work. I'm proud of you.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. No. That's right. They want to take tax breaks away. They want to increase taxes. And when you pass a tax increase on to a business or industry, oil or automobiles or whatever it is, it's passed on to the consumer in the form of price increases. So if they raise taxes, it won't give us one more drop of oil, which we ought to be drilling for right now, but it will make more expenses for the companies, and unless they can prove wrongdoing, those expenses will passed on to the consumer in the form of another price increase. So raising the taxes on the oil companies is only going to exacerbate the problem and make the cost of oil go up more. And I don't understand why my colleagues don't understand basic economics and the law of supply and demand. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need to pass legislation that will get more oil to the refineries, build more refineries, as you've said, and start getting the price of oil down because we are energy independent. And just talking about, okay, we're going to hit Big Oil, that may resonate with a lot of people. Some people say, oh, my gosh, they are not paying enough taxes. They ought to be taxed more. They are making too much in profits. That's not going to bring any oil to the market, not a drop. So I just say to my colleagues, quit beating on a dead horse. We have got to become energy independent. We have to drill here in America. And I hope everybody in the country who may be looking at this, and we can't talk to them, but everyone in the country who is looking at this tonight ought to ask their Congressmen and Senators, Is what you're talking about in Washington going to bring one more drop of oil to the marketplace? Is it going to move us toward energy independence? And if it isn't, they ought to sign that petition. They ought to get on with the program in making us more energy independent. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. If the gentleman would yield, let me just elaborate on that really quickly. I hope everybody who may be paying attention to this, our colleagues in their offices, realize that business and industry have a certain margin of profit that they have to make to keep the doors open, whatever it is. And as you have just said, if they are taxed and they have a margin of profit of 8 percent and you raise their taxes, they're going to pass that cost increase on to the consumer in the form of a price increase. And that's what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, your colleagues, don't understand. We really need to do what's necessary to move toward energy independence, and raising the price of gasoline by taxing these companies is not going to solve the problem. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Will the gentleman yield for a moment?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I just want to follow up the train of thought that you have. These taxes that they want to put on Big Oil, if there are excessive profits made and there is collusion or something like that, if there is criminal behavior, obviously everybody wants to make sure that doesn't take place. But whatever they're promising, everything that I have seen the opposition party promise, is that they are going to hit Big Oil with more taxes. That isn't going to get one more drop of oil to the-- --

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Thank you, Mr. Fortenberry. Have a nice trip back, and tell the people of Nebraska we said hi. Madam Speaker, we are about to wrap this up. I just want to say to my colleagues, I see my colleague from down south is waiting patiently for us to end our Special Hour, I just want to say that we all want to work together. We want to solve this problem for the American people. We want to get the price of gasoline down and we want to go to new forms of energy. But it is going to take time. And during that time for transition, it is extremely important that we start moving toward energy independence. And a main cog in that wheel is drilling here at home for oil and natural gas. So I hope, if I were talking to the American people, that they would talk to their Congressmen and Senators over this July 4th break. They are going to be there for parades and everything else. And I would say to the American people, if I could talk to them, talk to your Congressmen and your Senators. Tell them you want to be energy independent, you want to move toward energy independence, and we ought to drill here in the United States wherever we can.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. If the gentleman will yield just for a minute, I would like to say I agree with my colleague. These new forms of energy, these new technologies, are extremely important. I am kind of awed by the fact that you have taken the lead in Nebraska in getting this done. But while we are doing that, the one problem that I think we have is we have to realize the transition to the new technologies is going to take time, and while that is taking place, we are going to have to have energy. That is why we ought to be able to drill in the United States, and do it in an environmentally safe way, so we can produce natural gas and oil here at home. And while we are doing the transitioning to the new technologies like you are talking about, we won't have to depend so much on foreign oil and what might happen in another part of the world.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. So you have to settle for me.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I want to thank the gentleman for taking this time. I know you have to catch a plane tonight. I think it is important that the people who are watching in their offices and maybe Americans who might be paying attention, that they realize that we are not just talking about oil and gas, we are talking about all forms of energy, and we want to get to that. But, as you said and as has been said many times, that is going to take a transitional period, and during that transition, while we are trying to encourage more innovation, that we don't sink the ship by not having enough energy to get the job done.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the bravery and courage of American and Korean servicemen; and to celebrate the bonds of friendship between our two great countries. Fifty-eight years ago yesterday, forces from Communist North Korea launched an unprovoked invasion of their neighbors to the south, initiating what we now remember as the Korean War. Over the course of the following three years, millions of people were killed, wounded or forced from their homes and many more captured by the enemy. American troops of all colors and backgrounds gave their lives for freedom alongside thousands of Koreans. But ``The Forgotten War,'' as it is too often called because it was sandwiched between World War II and Vietnam, was necessary to stem the Communist tide in Asia and preserve the spirit of freedom for millions on the Korean Peninsula. The battle for Korea likely spared Japan from the threat of Communist invasion and showed the Communist world that the United States and its allies were prepared to vigorously resist Communist aggression. America and South Korea paid a dear price in blood and treasure but those who fell contributed much to the better world the people of South Korea enjoy today. Since the end of the War in 1953, South Korea has grown both economically and politically and has led as an example of democracy in East Asia, demonstrating our shared values of democratic governance, free enterprise and the rule of law. South Korea is a strong, unwavering ally in the U.S.-led Global War on Terror, having dispatched the third largest contingent of troops to Iraq, and to Afghanistan (where a South Korean soldier was killed during hostile action), and to Lebanon in support of peacekeeing operations there. In fact, South Korea has been one of only four partners and allies that stood with us through all four major conflicts since World War II. In addition, South Korea demonstrated her great friendship and generosity in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, pledging over $30 million in aid for relief and recovery efforts--the fourth largest amount donated by any foreign country. In contrast, Communist North Korea is in dire straits, unable to even feed its people. Like the struggles we see today in the newly liberated countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, when people have the freedom and will to determine their own fate, they will embrace democracy and freedom and the right of self-determination. I firmly believe that South Korea may be the premier success story of U.S. foreign policy in the post-World War II period. Having assisted South Korea in transforming itself from a war-torn, impoverished economy into a successful democracy with a free enterprise economy (the world's 11th largest), South Korea is now an indispensable partner with the United States in promoting democracy, a free market economy and respect for the rule of law around the world. Our economic relationship with South Korea is crucial as the seventh-largest trading partner with the United States. And almost sixty years later, the relationship between the United States and South Korea continues to be a very special one that builds upon a foundation of a friendship first laid in the 1882 Korean American Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation. Unfortunately Madam Speaker, there is a question mark hanging over our relationship with South Korea. Monday, June 30, 2008, will mark the one year anniversary since representatives from our two governments signed the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement here in Washington. If implemented, this agreement could potentially be the most commercially- significant free trade agreement signed by the United States in more than a decade. How we dispose of that Agreement will determine whether we are serious about enhancing the strong partnership between our two great democratic nations, and willing to open the door wider to the exchange of science and ideas that help us both to prosper. South Korea is already the United States' seventh largest export market and sixth largest market for U.S. agricultural products. In fact, according to the latest statistics, our annual bilateral trade totals nearly $80 billion. Koreans have invested nearly $20 billion in the United States, and have created American jobs through companies like Hyundai Motors, Samsung Electronics, and Kia Motors. As the largest investor in Korea, the United States already has a leading presence in that country. Any agreement that can open up more Korean markets to U.S. goods and services can only have a positive effect on the American economy by creating more and better jobs, enriching consumer choice, and boosting U.S. industry and manufacturing. But this FTA is more then simply a debate over economics; it is also recognition of our special relationship with South Korea and a strong statement that we will continue to stand with our allies, especially as we face continued uncertainty in regards to the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. No agreement or treaty is ever perfect, as it is always a product of compromise. And I agree that Congress has a legitimate right to debate the merits of the agreement; so let's have that debate; let's take this agreement out of legislative limbo, bring it to the House Floor, have an honest up or down vote, and let the chips fall where they may, Madam Speaker. I think we owe our South Korean friends that much respect. On the occasion of these twin anniversaries--the somber but proud commemoration of the beginning of the Korean War, and the forward- looking commemoration of the signing of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement--I ask my colleagues to join with me to salute our veterans and to celebrate the strong and enduring friendship and alliance between the good people of the Republic of Korea and the United States.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I'd just like to say to my colleagues who oppose drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, go home this weekend, this next week during the recess and talk to your constituents. Go to the gas stations and ask them if they would rather have the price of gasoline be as high as it is or start drilling for oil in the United States. We have the supply. We have the ability. And we're not doing a darn thing about it, and the American people and our economy is suffering. It is not just gas prices. Food prices and everything else is going to go up because it has to be transported across the roads. We need to move toward energy independence. We talked about it back in the seventies during the Carter years. We haven't done a darn thing in 30 years. It's time we started drilling here in the United States. The minute we start doing that the price will drop. Mark my words. I'd just like to say to my colleagues, use a little analogy. Nero started fiddling while Rome burned. We're fiddling right now with the energy of the United States and the economy of the United States. This body and the other body has the ability to do something about the prices of gas and other commodities in this country, and we're not doing anything about it. Another week has gone by. We're going to go back home. We haven't done a darn thing, and the American people are suffering. So, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have reservations about drilling here in the United States and give me all this environmental stuff, this is the time to do it. We want to move toward other forms of energy. We want to be concerned about the ecology of this country and other forms of transportation, but at the same time, it's going to take time for that to happen. We have to start drilling now. We can't wait. The American people want us to do it, and if you don't believe me, ask them when you go home this week. They're signing petitions by the thousands. The people of this country want to move toward energy independence. They want their gas prices to come down. They want other prices to come down, and they won't until this Congress and the other body starts moving toward energy independence by drilling here in the United States. General Leave

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I have been sitting down here and listening for about a couple of hours to the debate on the whole question of energy, and I would like to, from my perspective, tell you what I have gleaned from this debate. First of all, Americans are suffering. That is a fact. The price of gasoline is too high. Another fact is that everything that is associated or has anything to do with transportation is being affected, and the prices are going up for groceries, for everything. And the American people are suffering. I'm very concerned about the future of our economy if we don't get more oil and gas to market. Now, a while ago, the chairman of the previous committee said that we're importing 61 percent of our oil, up from about 48 percent some time ago. This was the chairman on the Democrat side. I would agree with that. We are importing 61 percent, up about 13 percent from what we did a couple of years ago. The reason is we're not drilling enough here in America. We're not producing enough in America, and we're buying it from Saudi Arabia, from Venezuela and other parts of the world. We need to move towards energy independence, and if we don't, I predict we're going to have severe, severe economic problems over the next few years. We could have a major economic recession or depression if we don't get control of our energy prices because it's going to spread into every other area of our lives. And the American people, I think, sense that. And that's why I said to my colleagues, Go home and talk to your friends and neighbors at the gas station and ask them, Do you want to get the gas prices down, or do you want to make sure that we don't drill in America, that we're more concerned about environmental concerns than we are of taking care of our economy? Obviously we want a better economy or better environmental situation. We want to go to alternative fuels. We want to do all of those things. Clean air, clean water. But at the same time, we don't want the entire economy of the United States to go down the tubes. And unless we get that energy independence by drilling here at home, that's a very real risk. We could have a real severe economic downturn. Fact: Prices are too high. Fact: It's hurting our entire economy. Fact: We have enough oil and gas in oil shale to make us energy independent if we get it out of the ground and out of the ocean into the market. Fact: 68 percent of oil well explorers are small companies. That's been brought out here today. And 87 percent of gas producers are small businesses. We talk about these permits. Why would they not want us to drill? It's their livelihood.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Why would these oil producers and gas producers not want to drill? So I think it's a bogus argument to say, Hey, they're holding these permits and not drilling. They want to make money, and if they don't drill, they're not going to make money. In fact, 97 percent of the Continental Shelf and 94 percent of onshore areas are exempt from drilling, and the oil's there, the gas is there, and the coal shale is there; and we're not doing a darn thing about it, and we are arguing about it. There has to be a bipartisan move to solve this problem. It ain't gonna solve itself, and the American people continue to suffer. So I would like to say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, let's sit down and work this out because if we don't, everybody is going to suffer, and this blame game ain't solving anything.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, as a proud co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Swaziland, I rise today to educate my colleagues about the history of Swaziland and strong but unfortunately too often overlooked relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Swaziland. The Swazi nation has a long and rich history going back to the 16th century when, according to tradition, the Swazi people migrated south from what is now Mozambique. Following a series of conflicts with people living in the area around modern day Maputo, Mozambique, the Swazi people settled in northern Zululand--part of present day South Africa--in about 1750. Unable to resist the growing power of the Zulu nation in the region, the Swazis moved gradually northward in the 1800s and established themselves in the area of modern Swaziland. From 1894 to 1902 South Africa administered Swazi interests with the British assuming control of the country in 1902. On September 6, 1968, the Kingdom of Swaziland became officially independent from the British crown. Today, Swaziland is a full fledged member of the United Nations, the African Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and Southern African Development Community (SADC). Ten accredited ambassadors or honorary consuls are resident in the country and Swaziland maintains diplomatic missions in Brussels, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur, London, Maputo, Nairobi, Pretoria, Taipei, the United Nations, and Washington, D.C. The United States has maintained good bilateral relations since the kingdom became independent in 1968 and these good ties have developed substantially over the years through talks of trade and assistance to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic that plagues the Kingdom. Approximately five years ago, the United States began negotiations to launch a Free Trade Agreement with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) made up of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. While the negotiations are currently on hold, the United States is still engaged in cooperative efforts to launch a program to intensify the trade and investment relationship in preparation for a Free Trade Agreement that would eventually eliminate tariffs, reduce non-tariff barriers, liberalize service trade, protect intellectual property rights, and provide technical assistance to help the five African nations, including Swaziland. To compound these future goals, the U.S. supports small enterprise development, education, military training, and development of institutions and human resources, and agricultural. In addition to promoting economic reform and improved industrial relations, the United States has worked closely with many organizations within Swaziland, and through U.S. agencies, to develop HIV/AIDS initiatives and programs. The U.S. is also the largest bilateral donor to the Global Fund, Swaziland's principal HIV/AIDS funding source. Through this source, many Swaziland groups such as the Hope House, Anglican United Against HIV/AIDS, World Teach, Salvation Army etc, have received funds to help in the scourge against AIDS. As exhibited in this year's large reauthorization amount for Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States is committed in the fight against AIDS, and will stand alongside any country willing to join us in this serious fight. The Peace Corps has made substantial contributions to this common fight as well. In 2003, Peace Corps volunteers returned to Swaziland after a nine-year absence. The current Peace Corps program in Swaziland focuses on HIV/AIDS and provides assistance in the execution of two components of the HIV/AIDS national strategy--risk reduction and mitigation of the impact of the disease. Volunteers encourage youth to engage in appropriate behaviors that will reduce the spread of HIV; they work with children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and they assist in capacity building for nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations. I was also pleased to learn that the U.S. Government sends, on average, four Swazi professionals to the United States each year, from both the public and private sectors, primarily for master's degrees, and about five others for three- to four-week International Visitor programs. Such programs are vital to continuing substantial progress between our two countries' common goals. Given the great potential for progress and development between the United States and Swaziland as outlined above, I am excited to co-chair the Congressional Swaziland Caucus with my friend and colleague Representative Edolphus Towns of New York. I urge my colleagues to learn more about the Kingdom of Swaziland and to consider joining the Congressional Swaziland Caucus to help us bolster the long standing ties of friendship between our two great countries.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the people of this country are pretty smart. They watch television and they listen to all of the political rhetoric and the hot air that comes out of this place, and they listen to all the press conferences, but they know, they know gas prices are too high and they know we ought to be energy independent and they know that we ought to drill in the United States so we can be energy independent. They know that it is affecting their prices at the grocery store and everything that they buy. They want us to be energy independent. They want us to drill in the ANWR and they want us to drill offshore in the Outer Continental Shelf. They want us to do what is right in this body. And we are not doing it. I want to say to my colleagues who are giving all of this hot air out about we shouldn't be doing it and about permits and everything else, the American people know they want us drilling in America. They want energy independence, and you guys had better get with the program.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, due to inclement weather and aviation delays some 86 Members, including myself, were unable to be on the House Floor for rollcall votes. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote 438-- Honoring the life, musical accomplishments, and contributions of Louis Jordan on the 100th anniversary of his birth; ``yea'' on rollcall vote 439--Supporting the goals and ideals of Black Music Month; ``yea'' on rollcall vote 440--Congratulating James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for 100 years of service and leadership to the United States; and ``nay'' on rollcall vote 441--a Motion to Adjourn.