The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“OIL IMPORTS A THREAT TO U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2876-H2877 on March 27, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
OIL IMPORTS A THREAT TO U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY
(Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, independent oil and gas producers are the mainstay of our domestic energy industry. In fact, independents produce about 64 percent of the natural gas in the country and about 39 percent of the crude oil.
But this great industry is struggling. Imports of both oil and natural gas are on the rise, and employment is declining. The United States now imports over half of our annual demand.
Our dependency on foreign oil costs about $60 billion annually and makes up a substantial part of our trade deficit.
Just over a year ago, President Clinton signed a report issued by the Department of Commerce saying that increasing oil imports are a threat to national security. But even as the President felt the pain of the oil and gas industry, he offered no plans to end that pain.
In a survey released by the Sustainable Energy Budget Coalition on January 16, it found that ``three-quarters of the American voters believe we need to do something to reduce dependency on foreign oil.''
Public servants must do more than talk. They must act to lower taxes, reduce regulation, and lower the burden of government on our oil and gas industry. As we approach the next century, we must, once again, make a domestic oil and gas industry a priority.
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