Aaron Schock

Washington, Oct 28, 2011 -

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) will visit the Bakken Field in North Dakota on Friday. He will be joining North Dakota Congressman Rick Berg who represents the Bakken Field in Congress. Schock and Berg also serve together on the House Ways and Means committee. Schock is making the visit to the state to tour the Bakken Field to see firsthand North Dakota’s success in energy production and energy sector job creation.

For the past several months, Schock has been calling for a robust highway bill that is linked to increased domestic energy production to pay for the cost of a long-term transportation infrastructure bill. Schock’s proposal would both encourage the increased production of American energy and help fund a new highway bill both of which would increase job growth.

“North Dakota is an example of a state doing things right,” Schock said. “This is a great opportunity for me to join Rick and see first-hand everything that is working in North Dakota including their commitment to a long-term energy strategy. North Dakota’s unemployment rate is 3 percent. This goes to show that with a successful domestic energy strategy we can spur job creation and economic development at the same time.”

“North Dakota’s commitment to a long-term energy plan, EMPOWER North Dakota, has allowed our state to experience substantial job creation and economic growth,” Congressman Rick Berg stated. “The Bakken Field holds tremendous opportunity for our state, yet President Obama’s overbearing regulations and misguided policies continue to threaten North Dakota energy producers and stand as a roadblock to implementing a long-term energy plan that our nation desperately needs to create jobs and break our dependence on foreign oil.”

Schock and Berg are scheduled to meet with community leaders and elected officials, in addition to a tour of the Bakken field, to discuss the economic impact that Bakken production has had on the Williston region, as well as the infrastructure challenges facing the city. 

Background on North Dakota’s Bakken Field: The Bakken Shale Oil field is located in the Williston Basin Formation in the northern United States which includes North Dakota and Montana and expands in to Canada.  It is estimated that the Bakken field holds between 6 - 24 billion barrels of recoverable oil and natural gas.

Click on the image to watch an interview from Congressman Schock's visit to the Bakken Field.