Washington - This afternoon, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) took to the floor of the Senate to deliver a speech debunking the myths of off-shore drilling and to discuss an alternative plan that would help lower gas prices and achieve long-term energy security. Menendez is a leading defender of the coastline and author of the COAST Act to permanently ban drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. He is also a lead co-sponsor of the "use it or lose it" legislation, the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act, which would spur oil companies to utilize the 68 million acres of federal land they currently lease but have not developed to produce oil.

Excerpts from Senator Menendez's speech:

"People are demanding honest solutions to our oil crisis. But President Bush, John McCain and their allies on the other side of the aisle have only decided to perpetuate myths."
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Myth #1: Coastline drilling will lower gas prices

"Drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf will do nothing to bring down gas prices. Not now, not ever. The amount of gas we could get from offshore drilling is equivalent to a few tablespoons per car per day. In fact, while President Bush is suggesting that drilling will bring down prices at the pump, his own Energy Information Administration admits that drilling will have no effect."
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Myth #2: Oil companies need more federal land and water to produce more oil

"Oil companies control an area more than twelve times the size of New Jersey. So why are they asking us to hand over more land, when they already have so much unused? It seems to me there's only one explanation: oil companies aren't actually in a rush to drill in those areas-but they are in a rush to control as much federal land as possible before their friends in the White House leave."
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Myth #3: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused no oil spills related to offshore drilling

"In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused devastation on a massive scale. The Environmental Protection Agency, the US Minerals Management Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard all agree that the storms caused 700,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico and over 7 million gallons of oil to leak onshore from the infrastructure that supports offshore drilling....

"An oil spill off the coast of Virginia could wash up as far away as Maine. It could devastate the coastline from South Carolina to New York. New Jersey families and businesses can't afford the risk of a disaster on the scale of the Exxon Valdez crash or the spills after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with sticky crude washing up on our beaches, killing our wildlife, collapsing property values and destroying our economy in the process.
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"We can't wait the decade George Bush and John McCain want us to wait to get oil from offshore drilling-we need to lower gas prices now. We need to see to it that our commodities markets are functioning fairly, so prices can come down from their artificial highs. We need to hold oil companies accountable. It's time we make sure they're using the 68 million acres they're leasing to bring down the price of oil, not just using it to pad their books and inflate the price of their stock.
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"And the only way for us to protect ourselves from rising gas prices is to end our dependence on oil, and that means making immediate, substantial investments in renewable fuels and conservation.
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"It's time we decided on a plan that looks out not just for the future of the oil companies, but for our future as a nation."

To view a video of the speech, visit the Senator's official website here: http://menendez.senate.gov/

Full text of Senator Menendez's remarks, as prepared for delivery:


M. President,

We're all well aware of the seriousness of the oil crisis that we're in. Gas prices are more than three times what they were when President Bush took office. High prices are forcing some businesses to cut back or close, and forcing some families to choose between putting a gallon of gas in their tank and putting a gallon of milk on their kitchen table.

People are demanding honest solutions to our oil crisis. But President Bush, John McCain and their allies on the other side of the aisle have only decided to perpetuate myths.

They've told us that offshore drilling will lower gas prices tomorrow. They've told us that oil companies could produce more if we hand over even more federal land and water to them. When people spoke up about the dangers of drilling, they claimed that no oil was spilled after Hurricane Katrina, and that drilling off the shore of one state won't affect all the other states around it.

M. President, we have to clear up these myths before it's too late.

MYTH #1: Drilling Immediately Brings Down Prices

The biggest myth, a myth that has been repeated over and over on the floor of this chamber, is that opening up our shores to drilling will somehow lower the price of gasoline. Let's get one thing straight: drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf will do nothing to bring down gas prices. Not now, not ever.

While President Bush is suggesting that drilling will bring down prices at the pump, his own Energy Information Administration admits that drilling will have no effect.

The reason is, the amount of oil involved is just a drop in the bucket compared to what we use every day.

Let me put offshore production in perspective.

Since April of this year Americans have responded to extraordinarily high gas prices by using over 800,000 barrels of oil per day less than we did one year ago.
This is the most significant and sudden drop in oil demand since the 1970's. And what have we seen since April? We've continued to see record gas prices.

In recent weeks, in response to record oil prices, Saudi Arabia has increased its production of oil by 500,000 barrels per day. And what was the effect on gas prices? They continue to go up.
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So how does the Bush/McCain drilling plan compare to these recent events?
If we open all our shores to oil production, the first drop of oil would not be seen for almost a decade. Offshore oil production would peak in 2030 at only 200,000 barrels per day. To put that number another way, the amount of gas we could get from offshore drilling is equivalent to a few tablespoons per car per day.

If 800,000 barrels per day in reduced demand combined with an increase of 500,000 barrels per day of Saudi production-a total of 1.3 million barrels a day-doesn't lower gas prices, how does the production of 200,000 barrels per day in 2030 lower gas prices? It is simply a myth that opening up offshore drilling will lower gas prices.

MYTH #2: 68 Million Acres

The second myth we hear is that if oil companies could only lease more federal land and water, they would produce more oil. The fact of the matter is, the oil industry has already leased 68 million acres of land where they haven't produced a single drop of oil. The oil companies clearly think there's oil there, or else why would they be leasing the land? But they aren't using it.

Just to get an idea of the scale involved, here's a map showing how much territory the oil companies control in the Gulf of Mexico. The red represents unused acres. It's a huge portion of the Gulf region, going completely undeveloped.

And here's an even more impressive map-the map of how much of the western United States oil companies control. The black portions show where companies are exploring, and again, the red is where they aren't exploring. I was staggered when I saw this. The oil companies control an enormous, enormous amount of land. When you add it all up, it's an area more than twelve times the size of my home state of New Jersey.

So why are oil companies asking us to hand over more land, when they already have so much unused? It seems to me there's only one explanation: oil companies aren't actually in a rush to drill in those areas-but they are in a rush to control as much federal land as possible before their friends in the White House leave.

MYTH #3: KATRINA

In order to convince us to let that plan go through, Big Oil and their supporters want us to believe a third myth: that offshore drilling presents no threat to our environment and to the economies of those communities like those in my home state of New Jersey.

Many of my colleagues from the Republican side of the aisle, including Sen. McConnell and Sen. McCain, have repeatedly denied that oil spills could happen, and have denied repeatedly that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused any oil to spill.

The picture I have here was taken by the Coast Guard. It shows what really happened after the hurricanes: a massive oil spill, that here was set on fire to assist in the cleanup effort.

I don't know what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would consider "significant spillage," but I know if I saw this scene on the New Jersey Shore, I'd consider it a disaster.

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused devastation on a massive scale. The Environmental Protection Agency, the US Minerals Management Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard all agree that the storms caused 700,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico[i] and over 7 million gallons of oil to leak onshore from the infrastructure that supports offshore drilling.[ii]

When oil spills in those quantities, it isn't isolated to a small area. The devastation spreads far and wide. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska, the spill was 600 miles wide. The IXTOC I spill in the Gulf of Mexico travelled 600 miles. That's why the decision to drill can't be left up to a single state, because that state's actions affect all the other states around it.

An oil spill off the coast of Virginia could wash up as far away as Maine. It could devastate the coastline from South Carolina to New York.

In my home state of New Jersey, the shore generates tens of billions of dollars in revenues each year and supports almost half a million jobs.

New Jersey families and businesses can't afford the risk of a disaster on the scale of the Exxon Valdez crash or the spills after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with sticky crude washing up on our beaches, killing our wildlife, collapsing property values and destroying our economy in the process.

Let's be honest: if there's drilling off our shore, it isn't a guarantee that there would be a major spill. But disasters have happened before, and they'll happen again. The question is, is the risk of a significant disaster worth the insignificant amount of oil that might come with drilling? The answer is clearly, no.

PLAN
If we're going to bring down gas prices, we need a better plan.

First, we can't wait the amount of time George Bush and John McCain want us to wait to get oil from offshore drilling-we need to lower gas prices now.
The supply and demand equation for oil is basically the same as it was a year ago, but the price has skyrocketed.

Unchecked speculation on the oil trading markets has driven oil prices higher. We need to see to it that our commodities markets are functioning fairly, so prices can come down from their artificial highs.
Second, we need to hold oil companies accountable.

It's time we make sure they're using the 68 million acres they're leasing to bring down the price of oil, not just using it to pad their books and inflate the price of their stock.
Together with Sen. Feingold and Sen. Dodd, I've introduced legislation that sends a simple message to oil companies about federal land they lease: use it or lose it.

The bill mandates that oil companies either produce on or seek to develop their existing federal leases, or make way for someone who will.

And most importantly, we need to break our dependence on oil. Here's the big picture: we can only ever produce a fraction of the oil we use.

The only way for us to protect ourselves from rising gas prices is to end our dependence on oil, and that means making immediate, substantial investments in renewable fuels and conservation.
We should all get behind legislation to expand tax credits for renewable energy producers. In order to boost vehicle efficiency, we should create stronger incentives for plug-in hybrids, support advanced battery research and research into cellulosic fuels.
And it's time we fully funded mass transit at the level it deserves.

We can do all of this in the time that President Bush would have us wait for minimal oil production along our coastlines.

M. President,
Let's be clear: this coastline drilling plan is not a serious proposal to help American families. It's exploitation of pain at the pump to give yet another handout to oil companies.

And it's long past time to stop repeating the myths that lie at the bottom of it.

Instead of buying into this overhyped, oversold plan, if we work together, we have the ability and ingenuity to secure our energy future once and for all.

It's time we decided on a plan that looks out not just for the future of the oil companies, but for our future as a nation. And with that, M. President, I yield the floor.


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