Posted on 08/08/2008 6:00:08 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
By JON TESTER U.S. Senator As Sharla and I buckle down for another harvest near Big Sandy, we're feeling what all Montanans are feeling at home - the pinch of out-of-control energy prices.
It's an issue that I deal with every day as a U.S. senator and as a family farmer. Our energy problems are the result of poor presidential leadership and a weak dollar. And with $12 billion in borrowed money going to Iraq every month, our dollar isn't going to get stronger any time soon.
For 30 years we've known that depending on imported oil was dangerous foreign policy and bad economic policy. But we haven't done what it takes to get ourselves off it. That needs to change. And that's why I support a three-part plan for the short term and the long term:
• First, we ought to drill more in places that make sense, like Eastern Montana. The Bakken Formation holds an estimated 4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. I don't have a problem with responsible drilling offshore or in parts of Alaska set aside for drilling. But I want to be darn sure that oil stays in America, not shipped off to Asia so the big oil companies can make more record profits.
• Second, I believe that oil speculation and hedging has gotten way out of hand. Some folks on Wall Street are trading oil they never intend to actually use in order to make a quick buck. That creates artificial supply and demand, resulting in artificially high gas prices. That's why I support smart legislation cracking down on out-of-control manipulation of the oil market.
• And of course, conservation and renewable energy have to play a big role in our energy future. It's time to make a serious investment in renewable energy like biofuels, wind, solar power and geothermal energy.
Unfortunately, a few White House allies in Congress shot down important legislation like extending tax credits for renewable energy, cracking down on speculators and hedgers, and getting tough on OPEC. They pay lip service to the need for renewable energy, then insist on voting only for legislation that gives Big Oil bigger profits.
Drilling for more oil can't be the only solution. Drilling is a bridge, but without a long-term solution it will be a bridge to nowhere. As a country that uses 25 percent of the world's oil, yet has only 3 percent of it, drilling alone won't solve the problem. Some on the other side of the aisle are not shooting straight with Montanans.
You would think from listening to some politicians that the big oil companies' agenda is the solution to record high gas prices. That defies common sense when the U.S. is exporting 1.4 million barrels every day to other countries. It's another example of the failed leadership that has taken the price of a gallon of gas from $1.50 in 2001 to more than $4 today.
With our national and economic security at stake, it's time for all of Congress to work together. It's a shame partisan politics gets in the way of common sense. Montana families and Main Street businesses deserve better than that.
It is a shame that Tester is a US Senator when he exhibits such a lack of basic economics.
He states that he is against any oil produced in the United States being sold to another country.
Anyone with "half their brain tied behind their back" knows that crude oil and petroleum products are fungible and can be sold wherever the highest price exists.
Senator Tester seems to not understand that world oil prices will go down when more oil is produced in the world. If it happens that the United States is the country producing more oil, then it will be because of that production world oil prices go down.
Or it could be increasing production in Canada, Cameroon, Cambodia, or China or many, many other countries of the world that produce more oil and the price goes down.
I hope the great citizens in the State of Montana see through Senator Tester's stupidity and kick him out of office.
Drilling is going on in Eastern Montana in the Bakken Formation.
This is a stupid statement and is pandering to libs and greenies.
He's a Democrat---whaddaya expect??
But I want to be darn sure that oil stays in America, not shipped off to Asia so the big oil companies can make more record profits.
Some on the other side of the aisle are not shooting straight with Montanans.
People of Montana actually buy the crap this joker is selling?
Well, yur durn tootin' cowboy! Them wascally Wepublicans are just mean-spirited! They own all the oil and prices are so high because they won't sell nun of it!
Tester is a member of the ‘Progressive’ caucus.
Calex59—
Senator Jon Tester is a panderer and not a Stateman.
In the 1980’s when the Alaska North Slope was producing 1.5 million barrels per day, the oil companies had to ship much of the oil all the way to Texas at a cost of over $6.00 per barrel because Congress had dictated no Alaskan crude could be exported.
If the oil companies had been able to ship the crude to Japan for $1.50 per barrel, the oil companies would have made more profits and the US Government would have received more corporate taxes from these companies. Win-Win for everyone!!!!
Senator Jon Tester is not acting in the best interests of his Montana constituents and the American public.
Crude oil is a fungible product and wherever it is produced in the world, it should be shipped to destination which has the lowest shipping costs thus generating the highest revenues for the producer.
Let me also add that Senator Jon Tester hurts his own State of Montana when he proposes that no US crude oil be exported. That has the effect of reducing the oil production taxes collected by the State.
Alaska citizens were hurt financially when Congress voted to ban exports of North Slope Crude oil to Japan. Alaska would have collected more from the sales if the oil companies had not been forced to ship the oil to Texas for $6.00 per barrel.
“As a country that uses 25 percent of the world’s oil, yet has only 3 percent of it, drilling alone won’t solve the problem.”
That has a ring to it. Can it be true? Maybe we’ve got way more oil as yet undiscovered off our coasts. Might put the Arabs to shame. We won’t know until we try.
I keep reading that it will take ten years to get any real production offshore once we make it legal. Again, is this more liberal drivel?
In the interim, it makes sense to do what we can to bring down consumption, which can be done pretty quickly and voluntarily.
And one of the reasons the dollar has fallen in value is the increasing imports of crude oil.
When the USA starts producing more oil, the value of the dollar increases.
Thanks for reminding us that when Democrats ban offshore drilling they are making our European vacations more expensive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.