Michele Bachmann

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. And what are we supposed to do with the airline industry? Put solar panels on the outside of airplanes and hope for the best, hope that a cloud doesn't come, hope that the sun doesn't go down? We have got to figure out some way to fly airplanes. I had employees from Northwest Airlines in my office because Northwest has to layoff--it is a great airline in Minnesota. And, Mr. Speaker, these Northwest employees told me 2,500 employees will be laid off, 2,500 employees. Think of what that is going to mean for the economy in the State of Minnesota. And then look at the airline announcement with United Airlines, with American Airlines, with Delta Airlines. We are, the United States Congress is personally responsible, I believe. Because of the negligent policies that this Congress has made to make it illegal to access American energy, they are responsible for spiking up the cost of energy so much that Congress, the Democrat-controlled Congress is responsible for seeing these airline companies go belly up. 2,500 employees losing their jobs in the State of Minnesota. Where is this going to end? If we don't increase American energy supply, if we won't build new refineries, if we won't find new natural gas to liquid, where are we going to go to fly our airplanes to keep our economy going?

Mrs. BACHMANN. That is what is absolutely amazing that we saw, is that no roads are built to get into ANWR to do the drilling. The roads that do go to put in the oil rig are ice roads. Those roads go in the dark of winter when it is freezing. Bulldozers build ice roads out to where the rig is going to be set. The oil rig is set, and as Congressman Latta said, what formerly used to take 20 acres of a pad site to put a drill down, now because of technological advances has been reduced down to 6 acres of land. But if you look at underneath the earth with the directional drilling that is able to be accomplished now, literally we can go out 8 miles. It is absolutely phenomenal what we are able to accomplish now, what the oil industry is able to accomplish now, to be able to give us American energy independence. Let's not forget what we are talking about, American energy independence. We are looking at $4 a gallon gasoline right now. This is incredible. This Chamber should be filled with Members of Congress. Unfortunately, and I don't know what the camera shows, but the Chamber is completely empty. Except for you and I, Congressman Latta, we are the only Members of Congress, as well as the Speaker. No offense extended to the Speaker. There is no more important issue right now for the American people. When we are at $4 a gallon gas, and when we have the capability of being at $2 a gallon gas, it is criminal to not allow the American people to be there. How do I know it is possible? We know from the seismic studies that have been done that there are over 10.5 billion barrels in the ANWR region in very close proximity to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Also, I sit on the Committee on Financial Services. Last week Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman said to us regarding gas prices, he said that a 1 percent increase in supply could lower prices by as much as 10 percent. Now what was the figure that we were told when drilling first started out in Prudhoe Bay, it was 2.1 million barrels per day. We are down to 700,000 barrels a day. We are able to increase another 1.4 million barrels a day. That's the capacity that we could increase, well over a 1 percent increase. So instead of seeing prices fall by as much as 10 percent, we could be looking at a price fall by as much as 20 percent. Perhaps, Congressman Latta, what we should do is talk about the timeline. There have been a lot of fallacies stated, false information stating that there are 68 million acres of land that is being leased that is idle that the oil companies are currently not using under use-it-or-lose-it policies. That is a fact that we found out on this fact-finding mission, the fact that that is a completely false statement. It is an urban legend. There is not one acre of land, Mr. Speaker, that has been leased that is currently not in the production or exploration stage because Congress again is at fault here. It is not companies, it is not consumers that are consuming too much oil, it is Congress. Congress created 10 years of an artificial delay period in the permitting, and they created in that 10-year period 11 different points of entries when nuisance lawsuits can be filed to stop the production of oil. Do you remember the length of time that one lawsuit languished in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals?

Mrs. BACHMANN. And that really is liquid gold.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Now, is that going to work in northwestern Ohio?

Mrs. BACHMANN. What does it say?

Mrs. BACHMANN. Can you see it, Congressman Latta?

Mrs. BACHMANN. Why is it, Congressman Latta, we are the only country in the world that has made it illegal to access the answer to our problem, our own U.S. American energy supplies? Every day of the week we hear buy American, buy American. We are here saying buy American, buy American energy reserves. We have got them everywhere. Why aren't we buying American energy reserves? But you know what really makes me mad? Congressman Latta, when I hear people say that Democrats don't have an energy plan. That makes me mad, because they have an energy plan and it is loud and clear and they stated it themselves just a week ago. Do you remember what it was?

Mrs. BACHMANN. Perhaps that has something to do with Congress' 9 percent approval rating.

Mrs. BACHMANN. And that is the new wave. Company after company has been forced to do that.

Mrs. BACHMANN. When people open up their Excel energy bill--Excel serves both Minnesota and Colorado--when people open up their Excel bill and they see that the price of their electricity or natural gas has doubled or maybe tripled, I cannot imagine the ramifications to the economy.

Mrs. BACHMANN. And, Congressman Latta, we all know that school is going on come up. Kids don't like to talk about the fact that school is going to come because it is still July. But there was an article last week in Minnesota, I believe it was in the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper, and it said this. It said that parents are looking at ratcheting back, not buying backpacks, not buying back to school clothes, not buying new protractors, pencils, because they just feel that they can't afford it, and, in fact, can't afford it. Now there is something wrong, Mr. Speaker, when the American people feel so squeezed that they don't feel they can buy their child a new backpack. This isn't funny anymore. This is a very serious issue. And I will tell you what, in the State of Minnesota, you don't have an option not to turn your furnace on come October. You just don't have that option.

Mrs. BACHMANN. The other key point that we don't want to fail to remember is that when we went on our American energy tour, the purpose was to talk to the American people about our all-of-the-above strategy, the fact that we believe in conservation. We need more conservation of energy in this country, and Congressman Latta had talked about the wonderful new designs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where buildings can be designed to literally use zero energy. I know it's hard to believe, but if you reorient the building, and if you use solar panels, there are amazing things that can be done now where buildings can actually get to the point of using zero energy. These are all techniques and great new breakthrough technologies that America can use to become energy independent. Conservation is real. We can embrace conservation. We can also embrace renewable energy. The breakthroughs right now that are happening with wind energy are overwhelming. We also saw all of testing that is being done with solar energy. I was particularly intrigued by shingles that are on houses now, shingles that are actually solar collectors. All of this work is being done at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. So renewables is one of the legs of our three-legged stool. Conservation is one of the legs on our three-legged stool. But we do not, a stool won't stand up without that third leg. Right now the third leg that is the most key that we need to focus on, we have to focus on all three at the same time, an abundance of increase in American energy supply. And we have got it. We have oil in the Outer Continental Shelf, over 88 billion barrels. We have over 10 billion barrels in the ANWR region. We have about 2 trillion barrels worth of oil in the oil shale region, and we have nuclear.

Mrs. BACHMANN. A postage stamp on a football field. That's what we are talking about.

Mrs. BACHMANN. A much larger footprint over here, a much larger environmental impact. The one thing we do know, the southern part of the petroleum reserve, there is about 2 percent of oil down there. About 2 percent of the area in the Southern part of the National Petroleum Reserve holds oil. So, again, the lie that we hear from other quarters state that, well, we just have land that's idle, that the oil companies aren't exploring on. Well, would you explore somewhere where there is no oil? I mean, just think of that. Where do young boys go to look for chicks? They go where the chicks are. You know, you go where you can have your best yield. Oil companies go where they can find their best yield.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Well the Governor of Alaska says let's tap into that natural gas. We have the oil pipeline that's currently under way. But you can't put natural gas into a crude oil pipeline. They need to build a natural-gas pipeline that would run fairly parallel. Every day, I believe it's well over 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas is extracted from the earth when the oil comes up. The great thing that the companies have been able to do is to take that natural gas and pump it back into the earth. The compression, I believe, from the natural gas, has forced more oil up. That's part of the reason why we have seen so much more yield from the Prudhoe Bay. Without that advance in technology, we wouldn't have the tremendous abundance that we have had. This is really sobering news. Again, remember, when Prudhoe Bay was first opened up 31 years ago, it was the largest oil field in the United States. Oil fields don't get larger, they only deplete. After 31 years, it is still the largest oil field in the United States. Knowing that, we have adjacent to this field the Arctic refuge, or the ANWR region 1002 which, again, president Jimmy Carter set aside specifically for the purpose of drilling for this oil and getting it back down for the American people, the American economy, and America's national security. Because whoever controls fuel controls your freedom. If Hugo Chavez and Middle East dictators and OPEC control America's fuel, then Hugo Chavez and OPEC dictators control America's freedom. I know that you don't want to have dictators controlling America's freedom. I don't. I don't want that for the people of Minnesota.

Mrs. BACHMANN. That doesn't include the natural gas. Remember that was the other part of the equation.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Be 15, they have now taken out 12 billion.

Mrs. BACHMANN. You're right.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Oh, there were no trees up there. I worked for my uncle up in Alaska when I was in college. I was in the Aleutian chain, which is in the southern part of Alaska. There were no trees there. We were here north of the Arctic circle. We touched other little toes up here actually in the Arctic Ocean. There are no trees up there, the mountain ranges that you see, as Congressman Latta said, the Brooks Range, it is, it was all granite. There were no trees. But the area we were in was the coastal plain, the perfect area for drilling. So we have the National Petroleum Reserve, Prudhoe Bay, the Arctic refuge, this has been a gift for our country. Remember, we cannot forget that this is a key to making America energy independent, not dependent upon OPEC for oil, not dependent on Huge Chavez for oil. We don't want to continue to send all of our American dollars and wealth overseas to make dictators happy and rich. What do we need? What could we do? We could keep that money here. Do you remember when we talked about jobs? I know your area in Ohio has suffered terribly from job loss. There is job loss in the State of Michigan. Many areas of the country right now are suffering with job loss. Do you know what we heard up here in Prudhoe Bay where the oil drilling is occurring, that workers make over six figures, over $100,000 a year. No one actually lives in Prudhoe Bay, they come in for 2 weeks at a time, and then they leave and they go home for 2 weeks at a time. They have health care benefits. They make over $100,000 a year. They work 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. We were told that if we would open up this ANWR region for drilling, and if we would also be looking at Colorado to open that area up, we would be looking at over 750,000 jobs, American jobs, where the American economy would be stimulated, Americans could be making over $100,000 a year. Why in the world, why in the world would anyone possibly not want to open up for the American people, not only energy reserves that could bring the price of energy down to less than $2 of a gallon of gas, but also to provide jobs. Wouldn't people in Ohio, in the great State of Ohio, want jobs at over $100,000?

Mrs. BACHMANN. Thank you for clarifying that, Congressman.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, today we're considering a massive housing bill which saddles the American taxpayer with billions of dollars to bail out both Fannie and Freddie as well as irresponsible lenders, and yes, even some irresponsible borrowers. But what will the American taxpayer be getting in return for being asked to be put on the hook for a deal that they weren't a part of and now all of the sudden they have to jump in and bail out someone else? Remember, 95 percent of Americans are paying on time their mortgages, their rents. They weren't a part of this very bad equation, but now they're being asked to come in, to have their taxes raised to bail out irresponsible lenders, and yes, even some irresponsible borrowers. What are they going to get in return? Are they going to be assured that the worst loans that were made won't be dumped into this refinance program? No, not going to happen. Will they be assured that this affordable housing slush fund that will finance millions of dollars for political groups like ACORN, groups that are currently under investigation in States for voter fraud, that they won't be getting more tax money? No. Are they assured that Fannie and Freddie will never again become too big to fail? No. Fannie and Freddie will become even bigger. Are they assured of a clear path out of this explicit Federal backdrop? No. It's not going to happen. In fact, it's the opposite. The banks are going to rid their balance sheets of the worst performing loans--what we used to call ``dogs'' in the industry--and it will encourage them to serve up on a silver platter for hardworking Americans a huge tax increase for them to pay. The hardworking Americans, unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, that are financing this bailout are already paying over $4 a gallon for gasoline and prices for groceries they never thought that they would have to pay. They are the forgotten man, Mr. Speaker. The ``forgotten man'' is the hardworking man and the hardworking single woman who is paying their bills, but who now is being asked to front the cost for poor performing loans. It's a bad deal, and we need to reject this rule.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank my colleague, Mr. Heller. I am so grateful that the majority brought this issue up of use-it- or-lose-it because this is something that the American people have been subjected to now for the last couple of weeks, this canard, that there are 68 million acres, and they somehow want the American people to believe that companies are risking their capital on leases that they're not using. And what I challenge the majority to do is produce even one lease, even one lease in the U.S. where there is an acre of land that has been leased that is not in some stage of production or exploration. Not one. We haven't seen proof of even one lease where a company has bid for that lease and that lease is not in some stage of either production or exploration. Again, let's look at Congress and Congress' complicity in this area because Congress has set artificial timelines, delayed timelines, for permitting. The leases are 10 years' long, and there are no less than 11 different stop points in that 10-year lease period where private parties can file lawsuits to stop the drilling. So, if a lawsuit is filed, for instance, by Friends of the Earth, by Sierra Club, by Earth Justice, the oil company, or whatever business it is, has to respond to the lawsuit. The lawsuit will end up in Federal district court. Then it may get kicked up to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. There's one case where a decision wasn't rendered for 2 years. Well, who made that scenario? The United States Congress. The companies have bid on these leases. They've put money down on the barrel head to actually lease the land. They've got a 10-year timeline that Congress has given them, and there are artificial delays built in for the permitting and also 11 different points for private lawsuits to be filed. So those delays, again, are ones that Congress has allowed to occur. There aren't companies that are sitting or dallying on a lease. I challenge this majority to produce even one, even one lease on even just 1 acre, where a company has a lease and they're not in some stage that Congress created of either producing or exploring on the land. Let alone defying any common sense of any businessman or -woman who puts their money on the line, their capital, they're not going to dissipate capital. But you will hear the Democrat majority, Madam Speaker, rant and rail that there're somehow dilatory companies out there that are sitting on leases. They haven't produced one, they haven't shown one example that they can parade around this Chamber where a company is not producing on the land. It's just a patently false statement and, in fact, one that shouldn't be used. I tell you, the real use-it-or-lose-it, Madam Speaker, it's this. When Congressman Heller and I were recently up in ANWR this weekend, we learned a very sobering fact, and the sobering fact is this. Thirty-one years ago, the largest oil field in the United States was up in the North Slope of Alaska, Prudhoe Bay. Today, the largest oil field in the United States remains up in Prudhoe Bay. This Congress has made a decision not to increase its oil fields. When the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built in Alaska in the mid seventies, when oil production first began, 2.1 million barrels a day was flowing through that 800 miles of pipeline, 2.1 million barrels a day. Do you know what that is today, Madam Speaker? We are now down to 700,000 barrels a day flowing through that pipeline, 700,000 barrels a day. We have diminished by more than half the amount of oil that we are sending down to the lower 48 from that wonderful energy lifeline in Alaska. Here's the sobering news, Madam Speaker. We learned this weekend that once we get down to 300,000 barrels a day flowing through that pipeline, the pipeline won't work anymore. This pipeline is a marvel of modern human engineering, a marvel. It's an incredibly valuable asset. I was told this weekend, Madam Speaker, that if we had to rebuild that pipeline today, we could be looking at a $15 billion investment. What's the window of opportunity that we have? If we don't open up new oil fields, potentially within 10 years' time, that pipeline will be of no use to us because what we were told is, if you don't use it, you lose it.

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank my colleague for that additional minute. I just want to conclude by saying this. If you want to talk about a real use-it-or-lose-it, Madam Speaker, you're talking about one of the most valuable resources we have. It is the American energy lifeline that runs through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that brings the valuable oil down to the lower 48. If we lose this pipeline, and if we lose it on this Democrat-controlled Congress' watch, we will lose our lifeline for any future oil development, which is all the more reason why we need to begin drilling here in the United States so we can buy American energy and buy it now. If we fast track the permitting, if we pull out all of the unnecessary lawsuits, we could literally within just a few years' time build a 74-mile spur into ANWR, get that oil down to the United States, and increase American energy reserves by 50 percent. I thank the gentleman for yielding that time.

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank my colleague from Nevada (Mr. Heller) for his leadership on buying American, especially as it relates to American energy sources. I also thank the Speaker, as well, for this 5 minutes. It is important, Madam Speaker, that we do buy American, especially American energy. Part of the problem that we have had for the last 31 years is that the United States, specifically the United States Congress, has almost made it a decided decision not to purchase American energy. How do I say this? I have a voting record in front of me, Madam Speaker, and it says this: When the votes have come on this floor to purchase American energy, this is how the votes have gone over purchasing oil and exploring for oil up in the ANWR region, where Mr. Heller and myself were this weekend. Republicans voted over 90 percent of the time to buy American, yes, American energy in the ANWR region. Democrats, unfortunately, Madam Speaker, voted ``no'' to buy American 85 percent of the time. When you look at purchasing American energy, Madam Speaker, through the coal-to-liquid program, Americans voted almost 100 percent of the time to buy American. Democrats voted ``no'' almost 80 percent of the time to buy American on coal-to-liquid fuels. On oil shale exploration, purchasing American energy through this tremendous resource of oil shale exploration of which America is the Saudi Arabia of the world in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, Republicans voted ``yes'' 90 percent of the time, while Democrats voted ``no'' to buying American 85 percent of the time. Sounds like we're on a roll. Sounds like we're on a trend. Well, unfortunately, Madam Speaker, the Outer Continental Shelf exploration, Republicans also voted ``yes'' to buy American oil and American natural gas over 80 percent of the time while our Democratic colleagues across the aisle voted ``no'' 80 percent of the time to buy American energy. To purchase American energy, Madam Speaker, to increase refinery capacity--this is a crucial issue in our energy capacity--Republicans voted ``yes'' to buy American energy from refineries almost 100 percent of the time while Democrats voted ``no'' on increasing energy capacity with refineries 95 percent of the time. I know it's hard to believe and hard to understand, but there has really been a very clear divide over energy policy in our country over the last 30 years. And unfortunately, our colleagues on the Democrat side of the aisle have made a very clear and distinct decision, and it has been this: No new energy exploration in the United States. They have been very clear about this. They don't want to increase energy exploration in the United States. We need to. And we aren't choosing just oil, just natural gas, just coal; we want to say ``yes'' to wind, to solar, to biofuels, to nuclear power, to all of the above. We have to say ``yes'' to all of the above or America will find itself at an energy deficit. I know the people that I serve, Madam Speaker, in the Sixth Congressional District in Minnesota are feeling that squeeze right now. I checked today in Minnesota, the average price of regular unleaded gas is $3.86 a gallon. It's something more than that nationally. But I will tell you the people in Minnesota, especially the people who are living on the margins, are feeling the pain right now of these price increases. But a wonderful story that Congressman Heller and I learned when we were on the all-of-the-above exploratory tool is that we have great answers here in the United States. The good news, Madam Speaker, is that we do not have an energy deficit in the United States. We do not suffer from a lack of resources. We have 27 percent of all of the world's coal in the United States. We have 2 trillion barrels of oil just in the United States. We have 88 billion barrels, conservatively speaking, in the Outer Continental Shelf, over 10 billion barrels in ANWR, and also 10 billion barrels near my home State in the Bakken Oil Reserve. We have energy in abundance in the United States. The problem is that Congress has said ``no.'' So what is standing between $2 gasoline and the American people, Madam Speaker, especially American-made energy? It's the United States Congress. It isn't the companies that have been bad guys or that the American people have been bad guys for using too much energy; it's the United States Congress, and unfortunately, the Democrat-controlled United States Congress that it's made a clear decision that they don't want to increase American energy. This is nonsense. Both Congressman Heller and I learned together this weekend that we have the resources, we have them available, which is why we need to buy American energy now.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Minnesota's new VFW Commander, Stan Kowalski, who was officially installed last month at a ceremony in Moorhead, Minnesota. As the VFW has itself noted, Stan Kowalski may very well be the last state commander nationwide to emerge from that Greatest Generation, veterans of the Second World War. Though he numbers in years 82, Stan Kowalski is a vibrant, active, energetic citizen. In fact, he's made no secret of the fact that he entertains the idea of running for National Commander of the VFW in the future. Kowalski is a strong advocate for those who once and those who now wear the uniform. He has been a frequent visitor to Camp Ripley and the Air Force Reserves' 934th Airlift Wing to see our troops headed off overseas. He's organized VFW post dinners for families of deployed Marines. And, he's served on the VFW's national POW/MIA Council. In fact, he gave the eulogy when PFC Robert Cahow returned home from Germany to Clear Lake, Wisconsin, after 57 years missing. Kowalski has shown a particularly great deal of compassion for those of his comrades who have fallen on hard times and are experiencing a time of need. He has noted that during his tenure as state commander, he will work closely with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans to help the estimated 700 homeless veterans across Minnesota. He calls those veterans a ``Lost Brigade'' and notes that his mission is ``making sure they get found and get the help they need.'' While his commitment to his fellow veterans runs strong and deep, he has also served his community in other ways. He was a longtime member of the School Board in Spring Lake Park District 16, a Little League coach, an Olympic torch carrier, and a 9/11 memorial organizer. Stan Kowalski, who many know from his 26-year career as a pro-wrestler with 19 major titles, has been a prolific fundraiser for efforts ranging from the Greater Twin Cities United Way to the ROTC to Save Our Sports for the University of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I join all of Minnesota in paying tribute to the great energy and good works of Commander Stan Kowalski.