Tom Price

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it's a privilege to come to the well of the House and address this body. It's Tuesday, about 16 minutes to 1 o'clock, and the House is back in session for another week. Today, we are going to be taking up some interesting resolutions. H.R. 1002 expresses support for the designation of April 2008 as Public Radio Recognition Month. We are going to take up House Resolution 1029, which congratulates and recognizes Chi-Chi Rodriguez for his continued success on and off the golf course. We are going to rename a post office in Cleveland, Ohio. We are going to rename another post office in Rancho Mirage, California, and we are going to recognize or have a bill that recognizes the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day. That's what is on tap for the House of Representatives today, Mr. Speaker. What aren't we going to do? Well, we aren't going to do what my constituents in the Sixth District of Georgia want us to do and what Americans all across this Nation want us to do, and that is to deal with the issue of gas prices, of rising gas prices. For another week, we're not going to deal with that because the leadership in this House, the Democrat leadership in this House, will not allow the bills to come to the floor that will increase American energy for Americans. The average gas price in this Nation today, Mr. Speaker, is $4.08 a gallon. In California, it's $4.60 a gallon. In Connecticut, it's $4.38 a gallon. Now, facts are stubborn things, Mr. Speaker, but there are some laws of economics that are driving all of this. Part of it, not all of it, is supply and demand, and there are some other facts that are important for all of us to appreciate. The United States expanded its dependence on foreign members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries--that's OPEC, Mr. Speaker--by a full 7 percent in 2007 alone. That means we increased our dependence on foreign oil. The United States is the only developed Nation in the world that forbids, that forbids, Mr. Speaker, safe energy production in its Outer Continental Shelf. That's deep sea exploration. We are the only developed Nation in the world to do this. The U.S. Minerals Management Service estimates that America's Outer Continental Shelf contains nearly 86 billion barrels of oil, 86 billion barrels of oil. How much is that, Mr. Speaker? It's enough oil to replace OPEC imports for 50 years. We can gain that in an environmentally sensitive and sound way without threatening the environment. On our side of the aisle, for the Republicans, when those votes have come up in the House, 81 percent of us have supported deep sea exploration for American energy for Americans. As for the other side of the aisle, when those votes have come up, 83 percent of House Democrats have opposed this. So, as my friend Mr. Westmoreland has said, we are going to break it down pretty simply. Who wants to bring onshore oil on line for Americans? Who wants to bring deep water oil on line for Americans? Who wants to increase refining capacity in America? American energy for Americans, which Members of this body want to do that? We've got a petition. We've got the pens at the ready, Mr. Speaker. All it takes is for Members to step up and to find their line and sign, and if they need help finding their line, we'll be glad to help them. It's important. It's important that the American people know that this body, the House of Representatives, appreciates the challenges that they're having right now at the gas pump, with filling up their cars and their vehicles, the difficulty of the truckers across this Nation in delivering the goods and services. It's imperative that this House of Representatives addresses the issue of conservation, yes, alternative fuel, yes, but increasing supply. When you hear our friends on the other side of the aisle, they will say, well, there's already land that has been leased to the oil companies, and they aren't using it. Well, you're right. They're not using it because there's no oil underneath it. They need to go where the oil is, and the oil is demonstrated in the deep sea exploration that we ought to allow. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to stand here with my colleague who has brought forward the kind of clear evidence that Members of this House can demonstrate to their constituents back home and to their colleagues here in the House. It's time to increase American supply of American energy for Americans. I call on the leadership, on the Speaker of the House and on the leadership of the majority party--the Democrats--to bring those bills forward. Let us vote.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank you, Congressman Westmoreland, for your leadership on this issue and that is really a great idea, and that is a petition that has a spot for every Member of the United States House of Representatives to sign that will say, ``I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans.'' As you said, it doesn't get any more simple than that. It's just as straightforward as it could be. I am sorry I couldn't join you at the beginning. I was listening in my office to our friend from Ohio who had some comments, that I thought it was important to set the record straight a little bit. I know my good friend from Indiana has done so, but I thought I would mention a couple of things. It's true, we do need to work together. We do need to work together, Democrats and Republicans on behalf of the American people. But as my mama used to say, it takes two to tango, and it's tough to dance by yourselves when the folks who are setting the agenda and setting the bills that come to the floor of the House, that will allow the bills that come to the floor of the House, when they won't tango, when they aren't interested, apparently, in solving this problem when the American people are crying out for a solution. My good friend, Mr. Ryan from Ohio, talked about the issue of the oil companies, domestic oil companies, American oil companies who are trying to bring as much product out of the ground as possible. At these prices, one would think that they would. He talks about the fact that only a quarter of the lands are being used that are currently being leased to the oil companies. He says, well, why don't they use the other 75 percent? Well, that reminds me of the question that Willy Loman got, you know, Willy Loman was a bank robber. And they asked him, Willy, why do you rob banks? He thought a little bit and said, because that's where the money is, the money is there. These oil companies don't drill on the other 75 percent of that land, not because they don't want to, it's because there are tests, remarkably efficient tests, that allow the domestic oil producers to tell whether or not there is oil down there. If they do those tests and they find that there is not any oil down there, then should we expect them to waste money and drill in those areas?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Will my friend yield?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. That's an important figure. Over half of the time that the oil companies put a drill down to find oil, they didn't find anything, and this is on that leased land. That's on that leased land.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I appreciate my friend's comment. I could let them drill in my backyard, but they are not going to find any oil there, so it's a waste of time to drill in my backyard. It's a waste of time for them to drill where there is no oil. To underscore the point that my friend from Indiana made about Alaska, the proven reserves, the proven reserves that are there are more than twice as much as the oil reserves in all of Texas, more than twice as much as the oil reserves in all of Texas. That's where the oil is, that's why it's important to allow them to go there. This would represent, the Alaska exploration, would represent a 50- percent increase in the total U.S. proven reserves. I would say that's a remarkable amount, incredible amount. You talk about something that would drive down the cost of gasoline, just the announcement that we would allow it to occur would drive down the price of oil across the world. But I think it's extremely important. We have a group called the Truth Squad that gets together to try to shed light on things because facts are stubborn things. Facts are stubborn things. Our motto is everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts. When the American people look at the facts on this issue, they understand that we need to conserve more. Without a doubt. And they understand that we need to have a transition to alternative fuel, that we need to find that non-fossil fuel that will drive our economy and our Nation for centuries to come, hopefully. But they also understand that it is foolish for a Nation that has incredible resources, like the United States, to let them just sit fallow and not take advantage of them and make it so that we are more reliant on foreign oil than ever before, and that we are buying oil from folks that frankly don't like us very much. They understand what this is about. I believe that over the coming months as we see gas prices continue to increase, that they will pay more attention to what is going on in this room and in this building. And as they pay more attention, they will appreciate that there are a group of individuals who are interested in increasing supply. And then there are a group that have proven over and over and over that they are not interested in increasing supply. I hope as we work together, we will be able to increase those numbers of people who want to increase supply to more than 218 so we can move forward.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I think it is important that we discuss a little bit about Saudi Arabia and the issue that Senator Schumer brought up in the context of our President going to the Middle East. And the way my constituents saw it, why is our President going to the Middle East and begging for the production or for them to sell us more oil. That is just not befitting of what we ought to do for our Nation which has incredible reserves, incredible reserves. And the facts will bear out what you said, and that is that the increase of oil that could come from Alaska is remarkable and would significantly lower the price. I am reminded of the Jay Leno line. Jay Leno said to his audience a couple of weeks ago, ``The Democrats say if we allow for drilling in Alaska, it will take 10 years before we see any gas.'' He said, ``That's just what they said 10 years ago.'' So it hasn't changed. It's the same old excuse.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my friend from Indiana for bringing up the issue of national security because energy security is national security. There is no doubt about it. People at home understand this better than the folks in this room, apparently, as a whole. Energy security is national security. I would suggest that it is irresponsible of us, it is an abrogation of our duty and our oath not to fulfill the requirements that would allow for us to be self-sufficient in energy. And we can with the resources that we have. There is no doubt about it. The dirty little secret is 30 years ago when we had the challenge, the oil crisis where we all waited in lines to fill our gas tanks, all of us at the time said, all of us said we will never be this reliant on foreign oil again. The dirty little secret is at that time we were about 25 percent relying on foreign oil. And now we buy over 60 percent of our oil, not from ourselves, not from domestic producers. So the dirty little secret is that we have gone a long way in the wrong direction. We can turn it around. We can move it in the right direction in an environmentally sensitive and sound way, in a technologically sound way that will not have the kind of catastrophes that many on the other side say are a certainty. I am pleased that you brought up Hurricane Katrina in a little different light. During Katrina, the thousands of rigs in the gulf, not one of them had a leak from Hurricane Katrina. In fact, there is more seepage naturally of oil out of the ground every day into the Gulf of Mexico than occurred during Hurricane Katrina because of a problem with the technology, the equipment. We have come so far in this Nation over the last 30 years in terms of technology and being able to do energy production, oil production, getting it out of the ground, in an environmentally sensitive and sound way. There is no reason, no reason not to move forward. In fact, the issue of Alaska and whether or not we ought to explore there, President Carter knew that we ought to. As my friends know, he signed a bill that provided for the 1002 area. That was in 1980. It is not a wildlife or a refuge at all, it is an area that was specifically designated for future exploration for oil. And our friends on the other side of the aisle won't allow that to happen.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I appreciate that. And this idea, the idea you came up with is so wonderful because what it's going to allow every Member of this House to see is who signs on the petition. You're going to come down here with some frequency, I suspect, and we'll review the individuals that are----

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Absolutely. Within 5 or 6 minutes they walked by and said well, I'll sign up on that. But our colleagues here are going to be able to look on that petition and see who's interested in voting to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans. And so that's why your leadership on this is wonderful. I'm reminded of the individual who said that every other nation on the face of this earth looks at their natural resources and views them as an economic asset. They view them as an economic asset, something that can help their nation. The problem that we seem to have is that the majority leadership, at least, in this body, looks at our natural resources and views them as an environmental hazard, which doesn't make any sense. It certainly doesn't make any sense to the folks in my district, and I suspect it doesn't make any sense to the folks in your districts.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Sure.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Absolutely. Let's get together. And I appreciate you bringing up some of the other ways to increase our domestic resources or utilization of our resources. Offshore drilling, offshore oil, deep sea exploration, 85 percent of the lower 48 States, Outer Continental Shelf, energy resources remain under lock and key by the Federal Government. You can't go there. 85 percent. In fact, as I mentioned, the United States is the only nation that has shoreline in the world that doesn't allow for exploration offshore to the degree that would allow for utilizing those resources that are available.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. My folks at home, when I tell them these sorts of things, they shake their head. They say, You gotta be kidding me. And we won't allow our oil companies, American oil producers, to do the same sorts of things in environmentally sensitive and technologically sound ways.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. That lets you know how much of the shoreline of the United States is in Alaska, because that's what bumps that number way up. I want to make just one brief comment about the oil shale that we've got available to us in the United States because I was astounded when I learned these figures. And again, these are facts. This isn't my opinion. This is a fact. The Department of Energy estimates that the United States is endowed with more than 2 trillion, 2 trillion, that's T-R, 2 trillion barrels of oil from oil shale if we were allowed to move forward with that clean technology, environmentally sound way, 2 trillion barrels. To put this figure in perspective, the world has used 1 trillion barrels of oil since the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. So twice as much oil as the world has used in the past 150 years is available through environmentally sound technology, through the use of oil shale. To not take advantage of those resources is astounding to me.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. That's exactly right. It wasn't well maybe we ought to give it a try in a little area and see how it works.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Yeah. We ought to, you know, at least try a little bit. Maybe we ought to see if it works, see if we can't make certain that the technologically sound and environmentally sensitive way to gain these resources is true. Shouldn't we just try a little bit? At $4 a gallon, doesn't that make sense? Or does it have to get to $5 a gallon, or is it $6?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Isn't that amazing. And it really begs the question, how high does the price of gas have to get before we use American resources? How high does it have to get? Maybe that's the question we ought to be asking our friends on the other side. We'd love to work with you. At what price will you begin to work? Is it $10 a gallon that you'll begin to work with us?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. And I thank you. And I know that you mentioned about the certain folks in the environmental community who do not want any exploration and do not want any greater production. But I can't believe that a significant number of folks on the other side don't believe in their heart, and their constituents certainly, that we ought to be able to solve this problem with our own resources and with our own ingenuity and our own spirit and genius and American entrepreneurship and American energy for Americans. I just have to believe that a significant number on the other side of the aisle believe that.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. And all of those activities that burden our own American oil producers, all of them provide greater incentives for foreign oil producers and increase our reliance on foreign oil. And I appreciate my friend from Indiana talking about the truckers, and if we were able to contact them and say, You ought to contact your Member of Congress because this petition is so simple, American energy solutions for lower gas. What could be more simple? And so you're talking about onshore oil, bringing more onshore oil on line, bringing deepwater oil on line, bringing new refineries on line. One thing that I learned just recently is that on the north shore of Lake Erie, the north shore of Lake Erie is not the United States. It's Canada. Good friend, neighbor to the north. They've got--they are drilling on land and then under Lake Erie to get oil. Our good friends, the Canadians to the north. And what are they doing with that oil? They're selling it to us.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Let me thank my friend and colleague from Georgia for his leadership on this. As you say, it's as simple as it gets. American energy solutions for lower gas prices. Either you believe and will vote for allowing an increase in U.S. oil production to lower gas prices or you won't. It's as simple as that. So I want to commend you for focusing this issue and making it very crystal clear for all of our colleagues who sign, who support increasing U.S. oil production to lower gas prices.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I go home, as most Members of Congress do, every weekend and talk with constituents and try to get a sense of what their concerns are and make certain that we are representing them responsibly here, and upon my last visits home on the weekends over the past 3 or 4 months, their concerns are the concerns of Americans all across this country, and that is the concern of energy prices, of gas prices. They aren't just concerned, Madam Speaker; they are mad. They are mad because they see absolute and utter inaction here in the United States Congress. American values and American vision dictates that we do all we can to solve the challenge that we have before us as it relates to gas prices. Four dollars a gallon, we hit that mark over this past weekend. I wonder what price per gallon it will take to get this Democrat majority to act, to work to increase supply. Is it $5 a gallon, $6 a gallon, is it $10 a gallon? Will it happen then that this Democrat majority will then allow this Congress to vote on increasing supply? Now, there are all sorts of things that ought to be done. The kinds of things that have been described by my friend on the other side of the aisle are appropriate, and we ought to do them. I support, strongly, conservation. We can do a lot more in the area of conservation and should incentivize conservation. I support, strongly, finding that alternative fuel and incentivizing genius of the American people to identify what that is so that future generations won't be reliant on fossil fuel. But right now, it's imperative that we work to increase supply. This problem isn't new. This distinction between folks on the Democrat side of the aisle and the Republican party on this side of the aisle isn't new. We have had vote after vote after vote over the past 10 or 15 years on increasing the supply of oil in this Nation, and time after time after time our friends on the other side of the aisle have not risen to the occasion. You talk about Alaska exploration, ANWR exploration, House Republicans have supported that 91 percent of the time, 91 percent of House Republicans have supported Alaska exploration; Democrats, 86 percent have opposed it. Jay Leno, I don't know if you heard, Jay Leno said Democrats right now say that it will take 10 years if we explore in Alaska to realize any new gasoline, and then he said, that's exactly what they said 10 years ago. It goes on and on. Coal-to-liquid technology, 97 percent of Republicans have supported coal-to-liquid technology, 78 percent of Democrats have opposed coal-to-liquid technology. Oil-shale exploration, every time it has come up 97 percent of Republicans have supported it; House Democrats, 86 percent have opposed it. Deep-sea exploration, House Republican support, 81 percent; House Democrats, 83 percent opposed. What about increasing refining capacity? House Republicans, 97 percent support; House Democrats, 96 percent opposed. So 91 percent, in summary, of House Republicans, have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas and 86 percent of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas. It has been said that every other Nation on Earth views their natural resources as an economic asset. House Democrats, this majority, believes that natural resources in this land are an environmental hazard. What do we do? Well, I want to commend Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan, who is leading the fight to decrease gas prices. He has filed a discharge petition on House Resolution 3089, which will increase refining construction and capacity, boost alternative energy development, provide incentives to increase nuclear energy and allow for environmentally friendly domestic oil production. I call on the Speaker, and I call on the leadership of this House to bring this commonsense bill to the floor. These are real solutions for the American people, American energy for Americans. It's the American vision, it's the American values that are across this land. The American people understand and appreciate the challenges we face. They just can't understand and appreciate why this majority won't act to increase supply.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, my constituents and Americans are asking, where is the bill? When will House Democrats bring forward a real plan for families being hammered by record gas prices? Today, the majority will spend hours considering no less than 10 nonbinding resolutions. Yet this Democrat Congress will do nothing, nothing, about outrageous energy prices. We fill the day with recognitions and commemorations, but there is no urgency for struggling Americans. It is shameful that with energy prices rising 70 percent on their watch, House Democrats remain stubbornly opposed to offering any ideas to increase supply and lower gas prices. All we see from this majority is brazen neglect. Republicans, on the other hand, have brought forward an energy action plan. We are ready to act. We are ready to increase American-made energy resources. We are ready to provide a broad mix of energy options. We are ready to streamline regulations allowing for increasing refining capacity. We are ready to help. Madam Speaker, we are ready. Americans are begging to know, when will this Democrat majority be?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, Americans are demanding action as they're being battered by sky-high gas prices. The relentless unwillingness to act by this majority has left my constituents fuming and looking for action, not more of the same rhetoric and politics. We sit at the precipice of four dollar gasoline. How much higher do these costs have to go before the majority will act? Five dollars? Six dollars? Ten dollars? Is the Democrat majority so out of touch with the American people? On this side of the aisle, we have produced an action plan to increase access to new sources of energy, increase American production, encourage alternative fuels, and incentivize conservation. We are ready to act. Madam Speaker, gas prices have increased 70 percent since you took control of Congress, and it's your duty to act. I call on you to allow the responsible Republican energy plan to come to this floor. Madam Speaker, idleness is not leadership.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my good friend from Florida for his leadership on this issue and so many others. Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor today. I wanted to talk about the amendments that I had offered to this bill that would have provided some accountability to the spending that's incorporated in this bill, but as we have heard, those amendments weren't made in order. So, in addition to the majority not wanting to have accountability for the bill that we're talking about on school construction, the first time Federal moneys have been used for school construction, no accountability, what I thought I would do then is address the issue that we ought to be talking about today. That's the issue that we all heard about last week when we went home. When I went home, what did I hear from my constituents? I didn't hear about school construction. I heard about gas prices. And I heard that people are tired, sick and tired, and fed up with inaction in Washington. They want solutions. Mr. Speaker, there are three ways to address this issue. One is conservation, and we all can do more. The second is to make certain that we put appropriate incentives in place for alternative fuels so that we can bridge to the next generation and American genius can be unleashed. This majority isn't doing anything about that. But the way that we bridge to the next generation is to increase supply, and so I asked some folks on our side of the aisle to get the information that said what has the majority party, what have the Democrats, done in order to increase supply of American energy. It won't surprise you, Mr. Speaker, to know that 91 percent of the folks on our side of the aisle, 91 percent, supported exploration in Alaska over the last 15 years; 86 percent on the other side opposed it to increase supply. Coal-to-liquid technology, 97 percent on our side of the aisle supported increasing supply in coal-to-liquid technology; 78 percent on the other side opposed it. How about oil shale exploration? Ninety percent on our side of the aisle support oil shale exploration increasing supply; 86 oppose it on the other side. Deep sea exploration, Mr. Speaker, 81 percent on our side support it; 83 percent on the other side oppose it. How about increasing refining capacity? There hasn't been a new refinery built in this Nation in over 30 years. Ninety-seven percent on this side of the aisle support it; 96 percent on the majority side oppose increasing refining capacity in vote after vote after vote. Mr. Speaker, my constituents and I know Americans across this Nation are sick and tired, sick and tired of a majority that's keeping us dependent on Middle Eastern oil. So I call on this majority and I call on the Speaker to bring forward a positive bill that will increase conservation, increase incentives for alternative fuel, and make certain that we can use American resources, American energy for Americans.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your leadership on this issue. I want to thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for their work on this committee. My amendment in this en bloc amendment addresses the issue of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse within the DOD system by addressing the issue of government-wide purchase cards. These cards are used to acquire supplies such as pencils, paper, computers, but also to even make payments on government contract. And these cards, while they've proven to be valuable as they reduce administrative costs and increase flexibility, they can be used or abused and misused, as has been evident by a recent GAO study. That study showed that, over a 1-year period of time, 41 percent of the purchase card transactions failed to meet basic internal standards. My amendment will ensure that purchases are independently verified and received by an authorizing official. It asks for an inventory of property to be updated promptly. Without doing this, property such as laptops and computers can go missing or even stolen. And for those personnel who abuse the purchase cards, this amendment would dictate that DOD will have the option of having them reimburse the government for unauthorized or erroneous purchases. I know my colleagues will support this wise amendment to decrease waste, fraud and abuse. I thank my colleagues for their support.