America has a dangerous dependence on foreign oil. We import nearly two-thirds of all the oil we use and it not only costs us billions of dollars, it also challenges our national, political, environmental, and economic security.
We don’t have to look any further than our nearest gas station to see how it’s impacting our wellbeing. In Arkansas we’re seeing the average price for a gallon of regular gas nearing $4 and this is taking a toll on many aspects of our lives. Budgets are strained from the increased costs and it’s forcing us to accommodate to meet the needs of our families.
To ease the pain we’re feeling at the pump Congress needs to encourage more production of U.S. resources. This is the only developed country in the world that refuses to use its natural resources. Opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), building refineries and more nuclear power plants as well as opening offshore drilling are all things we seriously need to consider to help increase our domestic energy supply.
There is no time like today to pass legislation to fully utilize the resources of this country. I’m a proponent of increasing the supply of domestic energy and have continually cosponsored and voted on legislation that aims to make us more energy independent.
In the long run we need to increase development of alternative energies. I have supported legislation that funds research into wind, solar, hydrogen and other technologies that will ease our dependence on foreign oil and gas, but in this current crisis, American oil and gas are necessary and available.
Spending more of our hard-earned money at the pump is a costly reminder of how dependent we are on foreign oil. It is time we adopt a comprehensive energy policy that will allow us to use American-made energy and end this destructive dependency.
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