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Washington D.C.- Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, today issued the following statement after the White House announced that President Bush will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling:
“The decision to lift the ban on offshore drilling is a necessary first step toward increasing the supply of American-made energy and ending our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Now Congress must follow suit.
“Our energy problems are all about supply and demand, and as prices at the pump continue to soar, we must continue to take steps to increase the supply of American-made energy. In addition to our deep sea resources, I hope that we take the legislative steps necessary to further increase production of American energy by lifting restrictions on exploration for energy in the intermountain West and in arctic Alaska.
“We must also work to reduce in the number of boutique fuels and expand the America’s domestic refining capacity. We also need to emphasize the importance of renewable energy and alternative technologies like coal to liquids, which are clearly the future. These common sense actions would increase global energy production and immediately send price-reduction signals to the futures markets.
“I hope that Democrats in Congress will finally realize that it is essential for us to utilize the untapped energy in America, as well as to take these common-sense steps to produce more American made energy and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.”
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