Wicker Calls on Congress to Increase American Energy Production
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today released the following statement in response to President Bush calling on Congress to lift the federal ban on deep sea exploration in order to increase American energy production:
“With gas prices in Mississippi and across the country at record levels, it is past time for Congress to implement policies that increase American energy production. With the national average of a gallon of gas at $4.07, it makes no sense for Congress to uphold a decades-old ban that handcuffs states that would prefer to allow environmentally friendly deep sea oil exploration off their coasts.
“We should also look beyond our deep waters and develop our vast oil and gas reserves in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and other areas that are currently off limits to energy exploration.
“With no oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, today’s technology has proven we can utilize our domestic energy reserves in a safe and environmentally sound way. Congress should take immediate action to utilize this domestic energy in order to lower gas prices and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”
Senator Roger Wicker Press Release
6/18/8
Magnolia Tribune
