Opening
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Hearing on "Exploring the Skyrocketing Price of Oil”
Senate Judiciary Committee
As Prepared
For Delivery
May 21, 2008
“Americans may have
a hard time believing this, as they fill up their cars, but the U.S.
is the third top oil producing country in the world, exceeded only by
Saudi Arabia and Russia. We produce four times more oil than Iraq, three
times more oil than Venezuela, and over double the production in Canada,
Mexico, China, and Iran.
“And yet we have never
been able to meet our needs domestically because the U.S. consumes more
oil than any other country in the world. Our annual consumption of 20.7
million gallons of oil a day is three-fold the consumption level of
the next highest consuming country. In short, we have an insatiable
appetite. An appetite that cannot be met even by adding an amount equivalent
to all the oil in the top-oil producing country of Saudi Arabia. Even
President Bush famously declared the United States is addicted to oil.
“The problem is clear.
Now we need solutions. We do not need economists in the room to explain
the basic principles of supply and demand. Given ever-increasing global
demand and predictions of continued skyrocketing oil prices, we need
to start the long-term transition to renewable energy and alternative
fuels immediately. Mr. Hofmeister, President of Shell Oil, stated in
an NBC interview last year that he too agrees we must and can get over
our addiction to oil ‘over decades’ and that Shell Oil ‘will
be there’ when it comes to renewables and alternative fuels. However,
his colleague, Mr. Simon, President of Exxon-Mobil, declared at a House
hearing last month that oil and gas will represent 80% of our energy
portfolio in 2050, over four decades from now. So how many decades from
now are we talking before your companies will seriously invest in alternative
fuels and renewable energy?
“Three years ago, the
same oil companies testified before the Senate’s Energy and Commerce
Committees and had similar discussions. And yet, based on April 2008
data published in the Oil and Gas Journal and distributed by the American
Petroleum Institute, over this time period your companies invested more
in marketing than renewable energy. Mr. Chairman, I ask that this data
be submitted for the record.
“Obviously you are
private companies looking to make a profit. And succeeding -- we’ve
all read the headlines regarding your companies’ record-setting
profits, $123 billion for 2007. Meanwhile, my constituents are facing
financially challenging times – from our farm fields to the grocery
stores and gas pumps, Americans are feeling the effect of record oil
prices.
“They are looking to
us for help. There are some things we can do to provide some short-term
relief, such as no longer filling the strategic petroleum reserve and
preventing market manipulation. We recently made some progress in both
these areas. We also need to pursue policies that encourage renewable
energy, alternative fuels, as well as energy efficiency and conservation,
and last year’s energy bill moves in that direction. But more
is needed, and I hope that oil companies will step up and be part of
the solution, finally.”
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