Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I just want to make this point again. What does this amendment say? It prohibits the Secretary from canceling lease sales previously announced to be auctioned based on public comments received after the comment period was ended. In other words, what the gentleman is simply saying is let's follow the law. I know he said that, but it is worth repeating. You have a comment period, then a decision is made. Once that decision is made, that should end the issue. Why? Because there is a great deal of capital that has been invested, and as the gentleman from Utah said, that is the certainty that our energy producers need. Mr. Chairman, what was done in Utah with the canceling of those sales at that time I thought was totally wrong. It was wrong then, it is wrong now, and the court has found that. Mr. Chairman, I support the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is the product of a collaborative process between the gentlewoman from Texas and the Natural Resources Committee. For most of this year, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources has held a series of hearings on American energy jobs focusing on the tremendous job opportunities and demand for educated and skilled workers in the oil and gas industry. A number of those hearings focused directly on veterans, opportunities for veterans, opportunities for women, and opportunities for minorities, not only in the industry, but also within the Department of the Interior. Mr. Chairman, this amendment builds on that work by establishing an office in the Department of the Interior to centralize and focus specifically on the dismal record of the Department in these areas. And why do I say that, Mr. Chairman? I say that because we have learned earlier this year from a GAO report that the Department of the Interior has trouble staffing these agencies and fails to utilize all of the tools at their disposal to hire, to train, and to retain staff in these particular areas. And so what this amendment does is centralize what DOE should already be doing, with the focus on veterans, women, and minorities. So I am prepared to accept this amendment, and I look forward to working with the sponsor on this and other areas that we can agree upon. With that, Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is another attempt to prove the unfounded position that speculation in energy markets is impacting energy prices. Last year the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study showing that: Speculation had little, if any, effect on prices and volatility. So this amendment then distracts from focusing really on future energy needs in our country and increasing our energy supply and production in our country. The underlying legislation simply ensures that American energy production can move forward to create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign imports, therefore increasing revenues to the Federal treasury, and, of course, contribute to economic growth. Instead, this amendment I think would waste millions of dollars to try to find proof that speculation increases energy prices--a fact that has been disproven. I might add too, Mr. Chairman, that an amendment of this nature has repeatedly been defeated on a bipartisan vote in the committee, and not only in the committee but also in the full House of Representatives. I urge rejection of the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Since it was established in earlier debate that the gentleman from Oregon is a Red Sox fan, let me quote here from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which of course they are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and probably most of them are Red Sox fans. I will conclude here again on the issue of speculation. They conclude with this sentence: When we focus on four specific periods of price runups, we find that speculation may have decreased prices by about 1.4 percent on average. In other words, what the gentleman is saying, in suggesting in his amendment that we should be studying speculation because it raises prices, here is a report from presumably a lot of Red Sox fans who believe that speculation might have driven prices down. Again, we have gone through this before not only in the committee but also in the House. It has been rejected. I urge we reject it one more time. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, this is one more procedural motion, and it seems to me we see a pattern here of procedural motions that distinguish the difference in philosophies between the two parties here. This is a good case in point. It seems like the Democrats' response to higher gas prices is to what? Tax, tax, tax. Our response to higher gas prices is to create an American energy system that creates jobs, jobs, jobs. Let's be clear. If you want to lower gas prices in this country, you produce more gasoline here. If you want to stop OPEC's influence in an international market, you produce more here, and if you want to create a growing economy that can sustain itself over time, you produce more energy here. This is a MTR that does none of that. Vote against the MTR and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 4899.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Americans are all too familiar with the economic hardships caused by $4 a gallon gasoline prices. I routinely hear from families in my central Washington district whose budgets are already being stretched thin and who can't afford the rising prices at the pump. Commuting to work, running the kids to after-school activities, and putting food on the table are all becoming increasingly difficult to afford. Yet the pain is not only being felt during trips to the gas station--high gasoline prices are a drain on our entire economy. That means that school districts juggle to operate bus routes, that cities grapple with the cost of sending police cars on patrol, and that businesses adjust budgets that can affect the hiring of new employees. The good news is that $4 gasoline does not have to be our reality. The U.S. is blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas resources that can lower energy prices and grow our economy. H.R. 4899, the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act, is commonsense legislation to responsibly harness the American energy resources that we have right here at home. Mr. Chairman, the Obama administration has spent the last 5\1/2\ years placing our energy resources on Federal lands and waters under tight lock and key. Offshore areas have been placed off limits. Scheduled exploration off Virginia was canceled, and over half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, or NPR-A, has been closed to energy production. That is why it is no surprise that, since President Obama took office, total Federal oil production has dropped 6 percent and total natural gas production has dropped 28 percent. That is on Federal lands, Mr. Chairman. Meanwhile, gasoline prices have doubled during this Presidency. H.R. 4899 would reverse this trend and unlock our American energy. The bill would implement a drill smart plan that would expand offshore energy production and safely open new areas that contain the most oil and natural gas resources, such as the mid-Atlantic, the southern Pacific, and the Arctic. It would require the Secretary to conduct specific oil and natural gas lease sales, including offshore Virginia, which was delayed and then canceled by the Obama administration. The bill would also establish fair and equitable revenue sharing for all coastal States and improve safety by reorganizing the Interior Department's offshore energy agencies. In addition to increased offshore energy production, the bill would help expand onshore oil and natural gas production on Federal lands. It would reform the leasing and streamline the permitting process, encourage the development of U.S. oil shale resources, expand the production of the NPR-A, and much more. While these policies will help lower gasoline prices, they will also create over 1.2 million new American jobs and generate over $1.7 billion in new revenue. In other words, Mr. Chairman, this bill is a win for our economy and a win for jobs. It is also important for our national security. The current turmoil in Iraq has already caused the price of gasoline to increase, and it serves as an important reminder of why we need to increase production here at home. The best way to protect ourselves from price spikes caused by international conflicts is to increase the production of American energy resources. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, the recent energy boom here in the U.S. is ``putting slack in the global oil market.'' A senior petroleum analyst noted in regard to the recent conflict in Iraq: ``If this were 2005, we would have seen a 20-30 cent jump in gas prices, but it's lower today because domestic energy production is much higher.'' However, all of the increase in U.S. energy production is happening on State and private lands. Mr. Chairman, let me repeat that. All of the increase in U.S. energy production is happening on State and private lands. As I previously noted, oil and natural gas production on Federal lands has declined under President Obama. We can and we should be doing so much more when it comes to American-produced energy, and doing so will further strengthen our energy security and reduce our reliance on foreign imports and on OPEC. Finally, we need to take action now because the Obama administration just announced the start of work on the next 5-year offshore drilling plan. With this bill that we are considering today, Congress can advance a responsible plan for developing America's resources. The President's plan, on the other hand, closes over 85 percent of offshore areas to energy production and includes the lowest number of lease sales ever offered in a 5-year plan. The administration's restrictive policies should not continue for another 5 years. That is why there needs to be a new plan, as outlined in this bill on the floor, that opens new areas and helps to put more than a million Americans back to work. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 4899 will ease the pain at the pump for American families and small businesses and eliminate Federal Government hurdles that keep American energy locked up. It is good for our economy; it is good for jobs; and it strengthens our national security. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), a member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn), a subcommittee chairman on the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton), another member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. I will make a couple points here, Mr. Chairman. My good friend, the gentleman from Oregon, was right, that we have debated these issues on the floor before. We passed the bills--the offshore bill and the onshore bill, two separate bills--with bipartisan support. But there seems to be a pattern in this Congress that we are trying to break because we know that any legislation cannot become law until the House acts on it and the Senate acts on it. And those bills are over there awaiting action in the Senate. So hope springs eternal. Maybe if we put these things together and then have some reforms on the offshore regulation, maybe, just maybe, the Senate will come to some sort of epiphany and say, we will pass these bills together. So that is the hope that we have here, and hopefully that will happen. Now, I want to make a couple of other points that have not really been made here in the debate today. We need to understand that crude oil is a global product and, therefore, is subject to global price pressures. But there is also one other factor that is rarely mentioned, and that is that the global market is largely controlled by one cartel, and that is OPEC. The last figures I have is that they control roughly 40 to 45 percent of the world market. Now, we know from basic economics, where you are talking about other commodities where there is a cartel holding prices up, the best way to beat cartels is to out-supply the cartels. When you out-supply the cartels, you have less speculation in the marketplace, as has been proven over time. And the point that we are making here with the potential resources we have in America, we have the opportunity to start the process of out-supplying cartels. That is what is so important in this debate. And that is why we should act on these bills, and that is why the Senate should act on these bills. And finally, the last point: when we do have leases in this country, it takes a long time, from the standpoint of when the lease is let, until you produce oil or produce any product whatsoever. At the start of this administration, back in 2009, this administration had the benefit of the lease sales that went into place under the Bush administration. So this administration had the benefit of high production on Federal lands because of the work of the Bush administration for the 8 years before that. But as I mentioned in my opening remarks, lease sales have gone down now, production has gone down, the fact that this 5-year plan that was just introduced by the President will probably take more time. I think we are going to see more of a decrease in production on Federal lands. That is why this bill is needed so much. So, Mr. Chairman, this is legislation that the House has faced in the past and has passed with bipartisan support. We need to do it again because, with rising gas prices, this is an answer to the long-term rising gas prices and energy prices in this country. So, with that, Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1044) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to install in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United States on D-day, June 6, 1944.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 1044 authorizes the Department of the Interior to place a plaque in the area of the World War II Memorial with the inscription of the words President Franklin Roosevelt prayed on the morning of D-day. This is especially appropriate because, only days ago, we commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-day and the tremendous sacrifice of American and Allied forces on that day. I would like to note that there has been some controversy in recent years over the omission of the words ``so help us God'' from the inscription of Roosevelt's address to Congress following Pearl Harbor. This legislation will go in the direction of easing those concerns with the addition of the D-day prayer. The inscription will be modest in size to complement the existing World War II Memorial and will be paid for through private fundraising efforts. Our colleague from Ohio (Mr. Johnson) should be commended for authorizing and moving the House companion measure of this bill in the last two Congresses. This is a Senate bill. Nevertheless, the gentleman from Ohio has his fingerprints all over this, and I commend him for that. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson), the author of the companion House bill of this legislation.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation. In the last two Congresses, both bodies have acted on this. It is now our time to pass this legislation and get it to the President's desk. With that, I urge adoption of the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.