Pelosi Statement on DRILL Act

    WASHINGTON, July 17 /EMWNews/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi

spoke on the House floor this afternoon in support of the Drill Responsibly

in Leased Lands (DRILL) Act. The measure received strong majority support

in a House vote today of 244 to 173, but failed to receive the two-thirds

necessary to pass under suspension of the rules. 162 Republicans voted

against the proposal, which would increase domestic production of oil and

gas on federal lands onshore and offshore. Below are the Speaker's remarks

on the floor:



    "Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I thank him for his extraordinary leadership in bringing the most extensive

drilling legislation to the floor of the House. Thank you, Mr. Rahall.



    "Part of what we must do to bring down the price of energy to the

American people is to increase domestic supply. And increasing domestic

supply means that we must remove all doubt in the minds of those who wish

to drill and those who want the drilling to take place that there are 68

million acres in the lower 48 states where drilling is allowed. Drill

Responsibly In Leased Lands. The DRILL Bill.



    "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the documentation of that amount of land.

33 million of those acres are offshore. So the question for opponents is:

'Why do you not want us to drill offshore?' We do -- in 33 million acres.

'Why do you not want us to drill on land?' We do, and tens of millions more

in the lower 48, and then this bill takes us to Alaska. Where the National

Petroleum Reserve -- Alaska, is a bigger source of oil than the ANWR, the

refuge in Alaska.



    "In order to protect the consumer and to increase domestic supply,

we're talking about two things. We're talking about protecting the consumer

with legislation to curb unnecessary, excessive, and abusive speculation in

the marketplace. That debate is going on in the Senate as we speak here

right now and will come to the House soon.



    "Increasing domestic supply means facilitating drilling where it is

allowed already in tens of millions of acres across our country. It means

investments in renewable resources because that is part of our energy

supply now and for the future. And it also means an immediate call upon the

President to free our oil.



    "Right now, the President is sitting on over 700 million barrels of

oil. This is oil that has been bought and paid for by the American tax

payer and is warehoused in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It is there for

emergencies and we have a national emergency in terms of the energy crisis

in our country. The SPR is 97 1/2 percent full. The fullest it has ever

been in history. All we're asking the President to do is to take 10 percent

of that oil and release it over time into the marketplace, increase the

supply, reduce the price.



    "10 days ago we called upon the President to free our oil. If he had

done so at that time we would already have an immediate impact at the pump.



    "So here we are today at a moment of truth. The truth is that there is

a great deal more oil to be exploited in our country. The truth is that it

is not being exploited and this bill will encourage that exploitation --

encourage those who have the leases to use it or lose it. They don't want

to exploit the situation to let someone else drill and produce oil and gas

in those acres. It also says that in Alaska we should be drilling in the

National Petroleum Reserve -- Alaska. Instead of having a fight over a

protected area, let's go to an area that is already permitted for leasing

and has more oil in the first place. The bill also says when we do that, we

must bring that product to market, so let's complete the pipeline five

miles there, and then build the national gas pipeline to take natural gas

from Alaska to the United States.



    "The only reason why that has not happened is because the President has

not decided it should. All of this is only a decision. We call upon the

President to use the good office of the President of the United States to

encourage those who are in the final stages of decision-making on this to

move, and then supply energy to our country will be vast. And it will

probably create 100,000 new jobs. Building the Alaska Pipeline, the Natural

Gas Alaska Pipeline, would be the biggest infrastructure project in

history. And all the President has to do is give the signal that this

should be done. He hasn't in 7 1/2 years; this bill calls upon him to do

so.



    "So when we drill, and when we bring the oil and gas prices down in our

country, we are saying that none of this oil that is being produced can be

exported to foreign countries. It is there not for the profit of these

corporations, but to meet the energy demands of the American people.



    "Essential to all of this, though, is to ignore the false claims being

made of the impact of drilling on these protected lands. Maybe science and

technology will one day make that feasible and we should always keep our

minds open to that. But to say we have to go there, which will take much

longer, to bring the product to market is just a diversion from the matter

at hand, which is a failed policy in the White House, as Mr. Markey said.



    "Two oilmen in the White House, $4-plus a gallon at the pump. The

President is sitting on 700 million barrels of oil that would bring down

that price at the pump. Free our oil, Mr. President; 'use it or lose it' to

our oil companies; end speculation that is driving up the price; protect

the American consumer; vote for the DRILL Act."