Robert Latta

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, the time to act is now. After we've seen the devastation of the hurricanes in the Gulf Region, it's time for this Congress to act and to allow drilling and to permit drilling in ANWR. What is ANWR? ANWR is 19 million acres in Alaska. We're talking about a section that was set aside in 1980 by Congress of about 1.5 million acres. Where the oil is, about 10.3 billion barrels, all we're really looking at is about 2,000 acres. To put it in perspective, it's about 3.5 square miles. We've got to get in there and get it now. Why? Because we can be bringing out 1 million barrels of oil down that 800-mile pipeline to serve this country, and we've got to make sure that this country can still be a manufacturing giant in the world. Next year, we lose our manufacturing status to China. If we don't have the energy to run our factories, to fuel our vehicles, to run our trucks or to run our tractors, this country is going to fail. If you look at this, you're only talking about a pin drop when you're talking about this area. It is time that we act. It is essential. If we don't get it done now, this country is going to fail.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Well, I thank my friend from Georgia for hosting this tonight because, once again, energy is the number-one topic on everyone's mind in this country. It has been a number-one topic since I have gotten here, and I think it's going to be topic for years to come. It's really important for me. My district, as a lot of you already know, I represent the number-one agriculture district in the State of Ohio, and I also represent one of the top 10 manufacturing districts in Congress. If we don't have energy in my district, we are not going to survive. If we don't have energy for those farmers, they can't get out there and plant those crops. To tell you a couple of examples that have been going on, I have had meetings across my 16 counties, talking with farmers all over the entire district. Right now I have talked to many a farmer that when they go out with their tractor in the morning, and by the time they get back at night, they have put $800 to $1,000 of diesel fuel through their equipment in 1 day. They talk about their fertilizer, they talk about the chemicals that they have to put on that land and make that land productive. They are coming back, and they are saying, you know, we are paying two and a half to three times more than we did 2 years ago for the same product. The question is, well, these farmers are all getting rich right now. No, they are not, because they are out there having to pay all these high prices for diesel. They have to pay all these high prices when it comes to fertilizer. They have to pay all these high prices when it comes to chemicals, and they can't afford it. What is happening, of course, is when people go to the store, and they buy that loaf of broad, when they buy that gallon of milk, they are saying, gee, why are prices going up? I can tell you why prices are going up, because these energy prices are out of control in this country. These energy prices are out of control because this Congress, this Democrat-controlled Congress, is not acting today to make sure that we can put food on the table and keep this price cheap for Americans. We were able a few years ago, and up to this year, say that most people within 42 to 43 days were able to pay for all of their food in those first 42 to 43 days of the year. That's what we need to do in this country, because if we don't, it's the same thing that is going to happen on manufacturing side, we are in that same situation where right now the United States is the number one manufacturing country in the world. Well, guess what, next year we drop to number two, and we all know who number one will be, and that will be China. They have been out there making sure they have that supply, but also they have that supply of energy that they have for the future. So it's very, very important for not only the Fifth Congressional District of Ohio, but it's also important for this country of ours, this great country, to make sure that we can meet the energy needs of the future. I know that one of our Members not too long ago told us a story about a trucker, a long- haul trucker in his district. He said he got a load to go from Texas to California and back. He was paid $1,700 for the entire load. Well, it cost him $1,500 in fuel, so by the time you figure the cost of insurance, buying that truck and everything else, it would have been cheaper for him to let that truck stay at home and just leave the keys in it. Now, I have had truckers call me, independent truckers, saying you know what, Bob, we have got real problems out here. We are actually turning our keys back over to the finance company because we can't afford to even run our trucks anymore. We can't afford to do our job. In Ohio, when we have 80 percent of all products being delivered by truck, how are we going to get things to the consumer, how are we going to get the product to market? So that's what we have got, massive problems right here, not only in Ohio, but across this country. As has been mentioned a little bit by the gentleman before from Tennessee, we are talking about renewables. I am 100 percent behind renewables, because it is kind of interesting in my district, we already have one solar manufacturing plant in business right now. We have another one that's going to be online next year. We also have a company working on a hydrogen engine, we have the only four wind turbines. I can see from them from the backyard of my house in Bowling Green. We also have two ethanol plants in my district. The one thing is a lot of people like to think on the other side of the aisle, and some of the environmentalists, all this is going to happen overnight. It's not. I was privileged to be one of the Members that went up to ANWR not too long ago, but we stopped in Colorado first at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. When we were there, it was interesting, because I was fascinated because everything I just mentioned from solar to wind to hydrogen to ethanol, that's what they are doing out there right now. Every time that we talked about something, they showed us something, for instance, we were talking about on the hydrogen side. They said this is what we would like to do on the hydrogen. It was kind of fascinating, because, well, we could create the hydrogen, because we could take a wind turbine and break down that electricity, break them into hydrogen, and we could run it down to like a hydrogen filling station so you could fill your car up right there. But the same question I always asked every time we got through a subject is how long and how far are we? They said, we are not there yet. We are not there yet. We are off for quite a ways. It's just like the electric cars, they showed us electric cars. A lot of us in northwest Ohio, and I know across this great country of ours, a lot of people have to drive more than 50 miles one way to work. Well these cars, you can only go 60 miles before you have got to plug them back in. Well, that's a real problem. You can't just go 60 miles in my district because you would never get home that night. If you are driving 100 miles one way, you have got a problem there. You know, but those are things we are working on for the future. As my friend from Tennessee mentioned earlier, these things are down the road, we are not there yet. It's the same way when we talk about the wind side. You know, we have seen a lot of commercials on TV, from T. Boone Pickens and how much we would like to have, in the near future, by wind power. Well, the problem with that is it's going to take maybe 150,000 to 200,000 wind turbines to get us to that point. We are not there, next year or the year after, or the year after that. We are talking maybe 2020 or 2030. We have got to have energy now. If we are not going to have energy now, we are not going to be able to manufacture. We are not going to have farmers in the field. This winter we have people telling me right now that we are not going to have the fuel to put in their tanks at home to make it through the entire winter when it comes to home heating oil. We have a lot of work we have got to get done, and we have got to get it done now. When we went to ANWR, it was really fascinating in that when we were up there we flew up by Fairbanks into Prudhoe Bay. When Prudhoe Bay first came on line, they were talking about it might only produce around 9 to 10 billion barrels of oil. Now they have revised that, it could be up to 13 to 15 billion barrels. The pipeline up there, you know, it's 800 miles long. That brings that lifeline down to the lower 48 to make sure that we have fuel. At its peak it was bringing down about 2.1 million barrels a day. Today it's only bringing down 700,000 barrels a day. The thing that really concerns me when I hear that, when that number gets down to 300,000 barrels a day, and we are losing about 15 percent capacity every year up there, when it gets down to 300,000 barrels a day, that pipeline won't be able to flow any more. If there is oil in the pipeline, it will clog it up and they won't be able to go back in there and clean out the pipeline. That means that the pipeline is finished. When we are importing 70 percent of our oil every day into this country, we can't afford to shut that pipeline off. It has also been demonstrated why we need diversification from where we get our oil in this country. When you have a hurricane and you have to shut down oil rigs in the gulf, and the refineries are out there, we have a problem. We have to diversify. We have to be up in Alaska. We know there is a known source of about 10.3 billion barrels. So we have to drill and make sure that we have that oil for the future. Just real briefly in summation, when we are talking about what we want to do up there, we are talking about ANWR which is 19 million acres, the size of South Carolina. Section 10.02 land is about 1.5 million acres, and we need 2,000 acres to get this oil out. We have to make sure that we can get this done so we have a future for this country. I applaud my friend for having this all-important special order tonight to bring up this subject about why we need energy for this country.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, the Democrat inaction on failing to adopt a comprehensive energy policy has come home to roost. We see this happened in the last hurricane. We have over 20 percent of our oil being produced in the gulf, and these oil rigs being shut down, and the refineries being shut down. Americans are suffering. We have to diversify. Once again, when you look at the energy proposals here, we have to be up in ANWR. There's 10.3 billion barrels of oil up there that we need to be drilling. We have got to get that oil down here. We have to make sure that there is natural gas, make sure that people can heat their homes this winter. We have to make sure that the folks that are out there driving trucks or tractors have diesel. We have to have that to make sure we keep our energy prices down and our food prices down. But the time to act is now. We have to have a comprehensive energy plan. The Republicans have put forward all of the above. All of the above is to make sure that we have nuclear, clean coal technology, hydro. We have to make sure that we drill, that we make sure that we have all of the alternatives out there, but we have to do it now. If we don't get it done now, the rest the world will pass us by. Next year China is becoming the number one manufacturing country in the world. It's time to act right now.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I represent one of the largest, if not the largest, ag districts in the State of Ohio. Also, according to the National Manufacturers Association, I represent one of the top 10 manufacturing districts in the country. And over this August break that we had, I was across my district--north, south, east and west--having a lot of meetings with farmers and a lot of meetings with our manufacturers. And the word wasn't all that good. Farmers were telling me that on many a day they're burning between $800 and $1,000 a day for diesel. They're paying much higher costs for fertilizer and chemicals-- and in some cases these are up 3 to 3.5 times as much as they were 2 to 3 years ago. Manufacturers: Not only the cost of shipping being up, but also the cost of the product that they had to produce with. They took me into the warehouses at the factories and they said, you know, a year ago, if you would have been here, this entire warehouse would have been full of the product that we needed to produce what we need to make our goods with. And today, it is only a quarter full. But that's the same price that we paid last year for this year, only a quarter. And it was an oil-based product. They've got a problem, because as that price keeps going up, they have to make tough decisions on manufacturing what they're going to do in Ohio. You know, we were talking about it just not affecting the farmers and manufacturers out there, but it also affects everyone. For the man and woman on the street, when it comes to thinking about their retirement and their future and putting their kids through college, they have to think, well, are we going to put that in the gas tank, in the oil tank for fuel this winter and not buy that new car or that new washing machine that might be produced in the northern part of Ohio? I was fortunate enough earlier this summer to go to ANWR with 10 other Members. And we went up there, we saw Prudhoe Bay and what was being done there, and also looking at what was right across from the line of the river of ANWR. And ANWR, if you don't know, is the size of South Carolina, about 19 million acres. We're looking at an area that was set aside in 1980 of what they call section 1002 of about 1.5 million acres of that. And when you get right down to it, all we're talking about in this whole debate, when we're talking about ANWR, is an area of about 2,000 acres. And that translates to about 3.5 square miles in size. But we've got to do it. Because what's happening right now is, when the Alaskan pipeline was at its height, it was carrying about 2.1 million barrels of oil a day. Today it's carrying 700,000. We are losing about 15 percent capacity every year in that pipeline. When it gets down to 3,000 barrels a day, it will no longer be able to flow and bring that oil south. That's a real concern because right now we're importing 70 percent of the oil used in this country, 70 percent. So what we need to do is be able to take that oil that's over in ANWR, about 10.3 billion barrels, and we can put that 1 million barrels a day into that pipeline and bring it south. And why is that important? Well, it's important that we do things here in this country because right now we're talking about having potentially about 86 billion barrels offshore, we have about 2.1 trillion barrels of oil shale, we're looking at around 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that's all off-limits right now. We also have 24 percent of the world's coal reserves. We have that technology, and some of that was invented in my own district, to have clean coal technology. Because we don't have these surprises that we wake up to like we did today that the OPEC countries have decided to cut back on production by about 520,000 barrels of oil over the next 40 days. Immediately the price of crude went up. Immediately we saw that, after watching the price go up and up and up to about $147 a barrel, it was back under $100 a barrel just briefly. And it's time that this country take control of its own destiny when it comes to energy, and that's why we need the all-of- the-above strategy. That's nuclear, that's clean coal technology, that's making sure that we use hydroelectric, that we are producing, that we are making sure that we have oil and natural gas because we are going to need that oil, we're going to need that natural gas for the next 20 to 25 years. We also have to look at the alternatives because when we went to ANWR, we stopped in Colorado and saw what they were doing out there in the National Renewable Laboratory dealing with solar, wind, hydrogen, ethanol, and biodiesel, and that's interesting to me because it's all happening in my district, the Fifth Congressional District of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it's time for us to act.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I spent the month of August traveling throughout my district speaking with my constituents about what issues matter to them most. Hands down, energy prices are their number one concern. As I toured factories, management explained how the rising cost of energy was forcing them to raise the cost of their products, oftentimes making foreign-made goods more appealing to consumers. When I met with farmers, they explained the high cost of fuel, fertilizer, and chemicals. Some farmers are spending over $900 a day to run their tractors. At our county fairs and events throughout the district, families described the impact of high gas prices and how it is affecting their spending and savings plans, putting their financial future and stability into jeopardy. During these discussions, I took pride in telling everyone that House Republicans were fighting during the entire August recess for lower energy costs with an ``all of the above'' plan that includes the responsible recovery of our natural resources in addition to further development of renewable and alternative energy. Without comprehensive energy reform, our constituents and economy will continue to suffer. It's time for Congress to act now.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman's words from Indiana. When you were talking about what your brother had contacted you on in regards to the sales tax issue in Indiana, I know it strikes close to home because it wasn't too long ago that we were looking at our charge card statement for the month and I said to my wife, What did we buy this month? I started looking down the list. It was gasoline, gasoline, gasoline, and mostly my fault because I am out in my district, it's a larger district, and when you're filling up 3 or 4 times a week, you put in a lot of gasoline. It's really cutting into our Americans' pocketbook. At this time I'd like to recognize the distinguished jurist and the distinguished gentleman from Texas. I know that you have had a lot of discussions with your constituents, especially I know the one that you told us about the long hauler from Texas that took that load to California. I know I have given that example to many people across my district over the last couple of months after I heard it from you. At this time, I'd like to yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentlewoman from North Carolina's words. I appreciate her work. I also would like to thank the Speaker for this evening's Special Order.

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman's words from Texas. At this time I would like to introduce the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), who has been a leader on this energy issue here on the House, in her 1 minutes and 5 minutes and her many, many speeches and special orders. I yield to her at this time.

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time. As we gather here this evening, we have heard a lot of speeches and discussion about one of the number one questions we have in this country, and that's our energy policy. We all went home and a lot of us didn't want to go home on August 1, and we stayed down here to get an energy policy in this country, but as we did go home, we faced a lot of questions from our constituents. I, for one, represent the National Manufacturing Association, one of the largest manufacturing districts, with manufacturing jobs in the Congress, and the number one agriculture district in Ohio. We have got a lot of needs in our district concerning energy. And that energy isn't just talking about oil to put in our cars, but it also depends on what we have in our factories. This evening, we have a number of Members who I would like to bring to the podium to talk a little bit about what's happening, not only in their States but across this country. The first Member I'd like to introduce this evening is our distinguished Member from Texas, our ranking member on Energy and Commerce, Mr. Barton. Good evening, and thanks very much.

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the distinguished gentleman from Texas and all of his hard work through all of these years on this energy debate because, as he mentioned, this country's future is at stake. Our standing in the world is at stake. It's not time to wait to get something done down the road. We have to do it right now. At this time, I would like to recognize my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Broun). I appreciate all of his work that he has done over the last year on trying to get an energy policy in this country. I appreciate it. The mike is yours. Thank you.

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate your willingness to be with us tonight, your hard work, your dedication to be back here during the August break and make sure we get that word out to the American people that we had to be here, not on break, but be here on this floor and make sure that we get an energy plan, especially all-of-the-above. We are talking about everything from nuclear to clean coal technology to hydroelectric to drilling for oil and natural gas and all the alternatives. At this time, I'd like to recognize the gentleman from Indiana for I believe he said a few minutes. I appreciate your time.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the ninth largest manufacturing district of the United States Congress. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of visiting two manufacturing facilities in my district. During the visits, the management of each facility told me that the number one issue facing them is the rising cost of energy and petroleum products. Natural gas is a much-needed resource in the manufacturing industry to fuel production, in addition to the thousands of petroleum-based products that are used to fabricate various goods. Without comprehensive energy reform, the price of oil and natural gas will continue to rise here in the United States, forcing costs to rise, and leaving us at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world. Foreign manufacturers located in countries such as India and China are allowing for exploration and recovery of their domestic natural resources that keep their energy prices low. The bottom line is that energy equals manufacturing which equals jobs. And without comprehensive energy reform, our Nation will continue to lose business to these countries and our economy will continue to suffer. The time to act is now.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Requesting Member: Congressman Robert E. Latta. Bill Number: HR. 6599: Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act. Account: Department of Defense; Army National Guard. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Ohio National Guard. Address of Requesting Entity: 2825 West Dublin Granville Road, Columbus, Ohio 43235. Description of Request: Provide $2 million in P-341 (unspecified minor military construction) funds pursuant to Title 10 US Code 2805, to construct a new 80-bed barracks at the Ohio National Guard's Camp Perry Training Site, Port Clinton, OH. The request will increase the readiness of our servicemen and women in the Ohio National Guard and help them better prepare for the challenges they face both at home and abroad.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it was a privilege to travel with Leader Boehner and my fellow Republican colleagues on the American Energy Tour to Colorado and Alaska. Our mission encompassed the ``all of the above'' energy policy our constituents have demanded. We've expanded our knowledge of renewable and alternative energy in addition to getting the hard facts on domestic exploration and recovery of our natural resources. After hosting multiple town hall meetings and speaking with constituents throughout my district, it is clear that they, along with the majority of the American public, support the House Republicans' ``all of the above'' plan. This plan calls for nuclear, clean coal technology and a responsible effort to safely explore and recover our domestic natural resources while expanding wind, solar, hydrogen, ethanol and biofuels. This plan is similar to the resolution I introduced on May 15, House Resolution 1206, which is a five-point comprehensive energy reform plan. We must enact comprehensive energy reform. And until Congress does, our constituents and the economy will continue to suffer.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. And again, the American people all know it. And when we have our tele-town halls, I think the other night when we did ours, we probably had 95 percent of all the calls dealt with one issue, energy. Energy, energy, because people are scared. They are worried about not only about turning on the switches at home, but they have got to pay for it.

Mr. LATTA. That might be that problem too. But we have got a situation in this country. But my philosophy is this: You know, sometimes you have got to spell out what the problems are before you can solve them. And by saying, you know, these are the problems we have, this is how we can solve them. I think the American people would say let's do it. And when they get to that point, I think what we can begin to say is we have got to start expanding. We have got to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can, across the board. You know, we are all for conservation. We are all for renewables. We are all for making sure that we have that base power that companies out there that use a lot of power, and when they turn those machines on in those factories, that they are going to run, that there won't be brownouts and blackouts. They have got to have that capacity to keep those things running. And some machines, they have got to keep running hours a day, all the time.

Mr. LATTA. Well, that might be true. They might be much happier to keep us at home than send us down here.

Mr. LATTA. And across the country where we can't get to right now we have over 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Mr. LATTA. I think it is important to point out what has happened with wildlife in that area over the time that that pipeline was constructed and the drilling began. One of the caribou herds that we were told about actually has gone up six to sevenfold in numbers. It was also interesting the day when we got there, at Mile Marker Zero of the pipeline, that was the first place we saw wildlife on the whole trip. We had three caribou about 45 yards away walking toward us toward the pipeline. I think when we were up in the air surveying the area, not only of Prudhoe Bay but going over to the NPR-A area and then over to ANWR, the most wildlife we saw were in the area where the pipeline was, and the one large caribou herd. I think all of us want to make sure that we have environmentally sound drilling and exploration. People have to know when we are up there and those companies are out there looking for oil and getting ready, they are only out there on that tundra during the time it is frozen. There are no roads. There are no roads. There is one solitary road heading north, but nothing else. Once you are up there and out there exploring, they have to do it quickly. They have to find it, and then come back the next year because they have to wait year after year to get in and out. But the oil is right there. The pipeline is less than 75 miles away from that 10.3 billion barrels of oil. They have also been able, the way they drill, as you mentioned being environmentally friendly, the whole idea of having the smallest footprint that you would have to have to drill, when you are looking at that footprint, we are talking about how large of an area is it that you used to have until today, and having to have your drill set up. I happen to have some of the statistics here. In 1970, the drill site had to be 20 acres to be able to cover 502 acres. From 1999 to the present, they only need 6 acres to cover an area of 32,000 acres. That is pretty exciting. One site that they are looking at, it is going to cost $1.5 billion to get that going. And what that $1.5 billion is going to be able to do is they are going to be able to laterally drill down and go out 8 miles without having to set foot anywhere to get to that oil.

Mr. LATTA. I believe the pipeline they said was stopped for at least 2 years during the construction of the pipeline. So all of these things take time. That is one of the big things, and there are some urban legends out there about how long some of these things can take. Some people say it takes 10 years. Well, if we all remember, it was in 1995 that President Clinton vetoed the legislation on this drilling. If we hadn't had that happen, we would have oil coming down that pipeline from ANWR today. And then we would be able to say to the rest of the world, look what is happening. And one of the things when we talk about oil and prices around the world, President Bush just this past week, I believe it was, said you know what, I am going to lift the ban on the executive side, but Congress also has to act. Because the world says hey, wait, is the United States getting serious about this, are they getting serious about really wanting to produce their own oil, getting away from that 65, 70 percent that they are importing right now and say, you know what, maybe the United States is going to get serious, maybe they are going to start looking at that Outer Continental Shelf. Maybe they are going to start looking at more with drilling in Alaska. It's important to note that we met with the Governor of Alaska.

Mr. LATTA. It's important to know that she wants to keep her State pristine and beautiful for the future generations of Alaskans. My wife's one sister does live in Alaska, and you want to make sure you keep that State gorgeous. But the Governor of Alaska said we have got to drill, we must drill. Not only does she believe it, but 80 percent of the Alaskans believe it.

Mr. LATTA. Remember we got off at Endicott at the drilling station there. Do you remember what we were told immediately, what was the warning?

Mr. LATTA. You are absolutely correct. We have got to act now. On the environmental side, I have hunted my entire life. I have been outdoors my entire life. One of the things, when I was in the Ohio legislature, I carried a lot of the bills from the Division of Wildlife. I helped create the bald eagle license plate. I believe in making sure that we preserve our natural heritage. We want to make sure in Ohio that the eagle is on a comeback, from only having four nests in 1979 to having about 185 nests this year. I am a firm believer of making sure. Not only did we hear about the polar bear when we got there, but when we were leaving, they said oh, we have got another report, we have got a brown bear out in the compound.

Mr. LATTA. Yes, the bears were out. I think it's also important that people keep remembering there is a lot of misinformation, there is a lot of misinformation that comes with photographs. You know, because just if you look at this, you talk about 1002 here on the far end of the chart here of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That's that 1.5 million acres. We are only talking about 3 square miles way to the west, and that's all it is. The other thing is, you know, I see photographs sometimes showing the refuge with trees, and the mountains having different types of trees on it.

Mr. LATTA. That might be on the south slope of the Brooks Range. But I tell you when we flew along that Brooks Range, and I took photographs, all I saw were granite mountains.