FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2006

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Pelosi: ‘America’s Dependence on OPEC Threatens Our National Security’

Washington, D.C.– House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to news that OPEC countries would cut production of oil by 1.2 million barrels per day in order to raise the price of oil.

“The price Americans pay to fill up their tanks or heat their homes should not be dependent on the whim of OPEC.  By continuing to rely on unstable governments across the world to meet our energy needs, America’s dependence on OPEC threatens our national security.

“President Bush promised to end our addiction of foreign oil in the State of the Union.  Yet, Republican energy policies, written in secret by the Cheney Energy Task Force, have increased our dependence on foreign oil to a record 65 percent.

“Democrats’ New Direction will free America from our dangerous addiction to foreign oil through new investment in clean, energy-efficient technologies, conservation, and promoting domestic energy alternatives, such as biofuels.  Democrats will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not the Middle East.”

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi