May 20, 2001

Washington, D.C.- The recent announcement of President Bush's energy policy is welcome news for Oklahoma's Sixth District. We have a special connection to the energy industry, as oil and gas is the second largest industry in Oklahoma. While the rest of the nation and Oklahoma energy consumers, especially agriculture producers, want a reliable and cheap energy supply, those Oklahomans connected to our oil and gas industry want an end to the boom-and-bust cycles of the past. We can do both, and Bush's energy plan is a big step in that direction.

The program helps consumers paying high energy bills. It accelerates the approval process for new power plants, to increase the power supply. It expedites the expansion of electricity transmission, as well as natural gas infrastructure. It also makes $1.7 billion available for LIHEAP, a program to help low income Americans pay their utility bills.

Since announcing his energy plan, folks from every interest group have voiced their opinions for and against the plan's recommendations. Personally, I see a lot of great proposals in this plan. But what may be lost in this very important debate is the fact that we have something to debate at all. We spent eight years in the last administration without an energy policy. I commend President Bush for opening the discussion with this plan. Instead of rhetoric, it provides 105 specific recommendations, and a solid blueprint for the future.

It's a future that looks bleak unless we make changes in our energy policy now. We face a fundamental imbalance of supply and demand, as our future energy needs will continue to outpace the present levels of production. Over the next 20 years U.S. oil consumption will rise by 33 percent, while both natural gas and energy consumption will rise by roughly 50 percent. We will have to import two out of every three barrels of oil consumed in this country.

That is why we must reduce our reliance on foreign oil by working to increase our energy supplies, as Bush proposes. We should begin environmentally safe exploration in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas. The expected output from ANWR could be as high as 16 billion barrels, which would equal nearly 60 years of Iraqi oil imports.

Of a special concern to me is what energy prices are doing to Oklahoma agriculture producers. Farmers are hit especially hard from the energy crunch, because they need large amounts of diesel and propane to run their farm equipment. Surging natural gas prices have increased the price of fertilizer, which uses natural gas in its production, by 90 percent since 1998. So farm production costs are spiking sharply, while farm income remains low. This is putting the squeeze on our producers, who are already cash-strapped because of low commodity prices.

We must increase the research into alternative and renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energies. The plan also calls for using an estimated $1.2 billion of bid bonuses from the environmentally responsible leasing of ANWR, as well as promoting wind and biomass energy through tax incentives.

There is great potential for the use of this biomass material, that is now discarded in the agriculture production process, to create usable energy. The more we research this area, the brighter the possibilities for our agriculture producers, who could greatly benefit from another market for their products.

One issue I'd like to see addressed in the Bush plan is that of marginal wells, or wells that are unprofitable during periods of low prices. Many of these wells can be found in Oklahoma, and we need to keep them running to help stabilize the market, as well as Oklahoma's economy. Earlier this year, I was an original cosponsor of a bill that would encourage marginal wells to keep pumping during lean times by enacting tax credits triggered by low prices. The bill would help reduce the volatile price fluctuations of the market.

The strength of Bush's energy plan is that it seeks to deal with the needs of consumers and producers alike. That's exactly why Oklahomans should support it, because the interests of our state, which include both consumers and producers, are both effectively addressed in this plan. The interest groups will continue to debate Bush's energy policy, but Oklahomans, who have the knowledge that comes from a lifetime connection to the energy industry, can see this is a plan for all interests.