Senate Proceeding on Jul 24th, 2008 :: 4:48:56 to 5:08:56
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4:42:55 to 4:48:56( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Saxby Chambliss

4:48:39 to 4:48:56( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: all of our boards of trade, have the ability to stop this type of manipulation and prosecute wrongdoers. with that, mr. president, i would yield back. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer:

4:48:56 to 4:49:11( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: the senator from idaho. mr. craig: mr. president, forre the last 36 hours now -- we here in the sen ate have been attempting to move forward on substantive policy that would produce more oil and bring

4:48:56 to 4:59:44( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Larry Craig

4:49:11 to 4:49:25( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: it into our systems to offset and, hopefully, lower the price that our consumers are paying at the pump. but nothing has happened. it's interesting, the majority leader say, well, we don't have time

4:49:25 to 4:49:38( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: to do it. and, yet, we've been here 36 hours doing nothing but talking when amendments could have been offered that might have been substantive as it relates to taking down the federal moratorium that exists

4:49:38 to 4:49:56( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: over many of these properties where we know there are known oil reserves. i find it very fascinating that -- that this morning in "the wall street journal"al an editorial. it speaks about speaker

4:49:56 to 4:50:12( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: pelosi of the house and harry reid, our majority leader, and other liberal leaders on capitol hill are gripped in cold sweat terror. if they permit a vote on offshore drilling, they know they will

4:50:12 to 4:50:24( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: lose when blue dogs, that are democrats that are a little more conservative over in the house and oil-patch democrats def ect to the t republican position. in increasing domestic energy production. what would be

4:50:24 to 4:50:36( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: wrong with b that? well, it really would be an admission on part of democrat leaders that their position of the last 20 years, to deny increased production, all in the name of environment and confirmation

4:50:36 to 4:50:54( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: hadn't worked. and the y simply can't let that dirty little secretre out. except there's one rea ol problem. the american people are beginning to figure out that it didn't work. why have we gone from

4:50:54 to 4:51:13( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: 30% dependencyn 1980 to 70% dependen cy today on someone other than a u.s. producer? something other than a u.s. reserve? the reason is because we quit producing. the debate today, while it iss embodied

4:51:13 to 4:51:28( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: in senate 3268, called a speculation bill, really is about production. and what republicans have simply said is allow us to amend it. allow us to bring to the floor amendments that would by potential of opportunity

4:51:28 to 4:51:43( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: produce increased production. i want to talk about one of those amendments that deals with offshore drillinreg. because i introduced several years ago a term that's now being used by many called the

4:51:43 to 4:51:59( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: no zone. and by that i simply meant all of these areas around the coast of the united states where we have geographical authority, meaning our territorial water in which we are denied right to go

4:51:59 to 4:52:14( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: and explore because of a political decision. because of policy made out of politics, not substance. we believe that within those areas there are literally billions of barrels of oil. but we don't know

4:52:14 to 4:52:25( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: that for sure. we only know that based on old geological surveys there is a great potential. what we do know is that where we were allowed to drill, down in the gulf, that's where a majority of our

4:52:25 to 4:52:38( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: current oil supplies are coming from. even in the deep water. but in the coast of california and oregon and washington, and off the coast of florida and the carolinas and georgia and north carolina

4:52:38 to 4:52:53( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: and virginia, it's no. it's heck, no. the politics won't let us go there. so we would like to offer a few amendments. we would like to change the character of the no zone. now, let me tell you about

4:52:53 to 4:53:09( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: an amendment that i would offer if i were given the chance to come to the floor on this bill and offer an amendment for full debate. we think it's a constructive amendment. it's an amendment that we

4:53:09 to 4:53:25( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: would call the domestic offshore energy security act of 2008. and it would take all of this yellow area and allow it to go out to bid for the purposes of production. just a year and a half ago,

4:53:25 to 4:53:37( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: the congress, when gas was at $2-plus a gallon, decided we'd let this little piece go into exploration and development. it was called lease sale 181. we debated it for weeks. we negotiated for weeks,

4:53:37 to 4:53:52( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: and finally we brought all of us together to agree. well, we believe there's a substantial amount of product out there. we're not -- we don't know for sure, but the leases are going forward. it's believed

4:53:52 to 4:54:06( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: that there is 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas an maybe between 185 million and 200 million barrels of oil. the advantage of this sale is that it is very close to all of the known refineries and the

4:54:06 to 4:54:21( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: infrastructure that can bring to the market very quickly. what my amendment would do would bring thi whole area into play where there are -- where there literally could be billions of barrels of oil

4:54:21 to 4:54:35( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: and multitrillions of cubic feet of gas. but the answer is no. the democrat leader says, no. can't do that. won't do that. politically we're not going to go there. and the american consumer is saying,

4:54:35 to 4:54:45( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: why? in fact, i'm told at the polls in florida by a majorityre saying, drill it. do it right, do it responsiblably, do it cleanly, but drill. it we want the royalities that would come to state of florida

4:54:45 to 4:54:58( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: that would pay for our education, but more importantly, we want to bring down the price of gas because it is really breaking the family budget. well, what happened when the president announced

4:54:58 to 4:55:18( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: a few weeks ago that he would lift an executive order on a moratorium annual market began to show that the american consumer this year was consuming less than last year because of prices. oil prices

4:55:18 to 4:55:32( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: began to fall. from the high $140 a barrel down today to about $122 or $123. nearly a 20-cent drop in the price of oil per barrel on the reality that the marketplace was working, that the and in was

4:55:32 to 4:55:47( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: going down. if you keep allowing demand to slide, but you work on bringing b production up, you bring the price down. you save the american family's budget. but here on the floor oflo the united

4:55:47 to 4:56:05( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: states senate it's, oh, no, we can't go there. the leader, as the leader of a majority party, will not admit that his policy, their policy over the las20 years of denying production has now brought

4:56:05 to 4:56:19( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: this crisis on. and that's exactly what the editorial of "the wall street journal" basically said. why not let the debate go forward? why not allow the amendments to be offered o by anyone for that

4:56:19 to 4:56:33( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: matter? why not allow those debates to go forward? another interesting article this morning, and i would w ask unanimous consentt that "the wall street journal" editorial and this u.s. geological survey

4:56:33 to 4:56:49( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: report becom e a part of the p record. i would ask unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. craig: what is it? there it is. 90 billion barrels of oil and 167 quadrillion cubic

4:56:49 to 4:57:02( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: feet f of gas accessed in the arctic. that's called anwr, folks. and other areas in the arctic, an once again, it is politically off limits. the oil is there, but the law says you can't go there.

4:57:02 to 4:57:18( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: it is really quite thatui simple. who are lawmakers? we are lawmakers. we are policymakers. why aren't we on the floor debating those amendments? why aren't were offering those in amendments in a responsible fashion.

4:57:18 to 4:57:31( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: why don't we deal with what the american public needs at this moment. and that's toat see their congress responsive to their single greatest problem at this time is the price of oil and the price of gas at

4:57:31 to 4:57:47( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: the pump and it's going to create great problems if we don't deal with it quickly. it is permeating the whole economy and shoving up the price of nearly everything that we touch. energy is the underlying

4:57:47 to 4:58:02( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: force of this economy. and if energy prices continue to go higher, the economy itself is weakened. so why is not this cgress and the leadership of this senate moving forward? why are we simply stalled

4:58:02 to 4:58:22( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: out, wringing our hands and saying, there is no time? there is no time to fix the american families budget? there's only time to divert our attention tont terms like speculation. well, let me tell you.

4:58:22 to 4:58:40( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: here's the bill. here's 1368. not one drop of oil in it. see that. not one drop of oil in this legislation. but in the amendment i wouldou offer, there could be millions, if not billions, of barrels

4:58:40 to 4:58:50( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: of oil. and trillions of cubic feet of gas. and th at's the rea lot reality of o what we're talking about. and why, why, why, why, mr. leader, are you denying the u.s. senate, the greatest deliberative

4:58:50 to 4:59:06( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: body in the world right to offer these amendments and vote on them? we're stalled oute because of the leadership. we're stalled out an told we e can't go there. and i don't think that the american

4:59:06 to 4:59:20( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: public in any way understands the politics of this one. the politics is quite simple. if you for20 years were wrong, and -- for 20 years were wrong, and the market knows shows it, how can you knit you

4:59:20 to 4:59:30( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: were wrong in that's the issue -- you admit it you were wrong. that's the issue. mr. leader, it is time that you admit it and we begin once again to become great and productive nation. and i yield the

4:59:30 to 4:59:44( Edit History Discussion )

Larry Craig: floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. a senator: mr. president, i have listened for the past 20 minutes or so of the narrative that's on the floor of

4:59:44 to 4:59:58( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the senate that my colleague from idaho and i have introduced legislation in the last four or five years dealing with expanding production in the gulf. mine, we don't disagree on the issue of whether we

4:59:44 to 5:02:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan

4:59:58 to 5:00:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: should expand production. in fact, we agree on that. but i have heard several of my colleagues come to the floor to create false choices this afternoon and i want to talk about those false choices.|

5:00:07 to 5:00:22( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: it is fascinating to me and very disappointing to me that at a time when it is so hard for people to try to figure out how they're going to get the money together, how do you scrape enough money together

5:00:22 to 5:00:37( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to put $70 or $75 worth of gas in your tank when it's near "e" on the gauge, how are you going to be able to fill your farm tank in order to harvest your crop, how is an airline going to be able to

5:00:37 to 5:00:47( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: afford fuel, how is a family going to be able to afford enough money to put gas in their tank go, to work? at a time when we face oil prices bouncing between $120 and $140 a barrel and gasoline at $4,

5:00:47 to 5:01:01( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: $4.50 a gallon when there ought to provoke and spark cooperation on the floor of the senate, there is none. my colleagues come to the floor of the senate and say, do you know what, let's open up

5:01:01 to 5:01:14( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the entire outer continental shelf. well, we just -- we just had h an assessment done of that, and what it shows is that in the year 2020, you get this extra production in the year 2020. i understand

5:01:14 to 5:01:23( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: talking about next week, next decade, but that's what going to do to families, to truckers, to farmers, to airlines and others if someone come out here and says, do you know what, we've got a real

5:01:23 to 5:01:35( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: serious problem right now and i've got a solution for 2020? well, sign me up for the solutions in the long term, although i might have a different approach to it. i might hope that by 2020, we're

5:01:35 to 5:01:45( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: no longer quite as addicted to oil, particularly oil from off our shores, oil from the saudis, oil from the kuwaitis, oil from iraq, oil from venezuela. maybe we can shed the addiction in ten years.

5:01:45 to 5:01:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: maybe that ought to be our efforts. maybe we ought to do something game changing instead of deciding, do you know what, the way to deal with our addiction is to just do more that we're addicted to.

5:01:56 to 5:02:10( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: makes precious the sense to me. now, -- mr. durbin: if committee ask the senator from north dakota to yield? mr. dorgan: i would be happy to yieldment mr. durbin: i'd like to ask him a question

5:02:10 to 5:02:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: because he has been a leader in the senate on the question of speculation. and i just wanto say that many of our republican colleagues have come to the floor over the last several days saying virtually speculation's

5:02:10 to 5:04:27( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

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Richard Durbin: not the problem. not speculation. and i know the senator from north dakota has ample evidence and many experts behind his position. he and i have joined together with the leadership in coming up with

5:02:33 to 5:02:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: an approach which will try to dampen the fires of speculation which may be driving up oil prices and creating volatility not reflected in the market. and i just want to make sure that the senator from

5:02:46 to 5:02:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: north dakota is aware of what happened today with the commodity futures trading commission. they have charged an oil trading firm with manipulating oil prices. the first complaint to be announced

5:02:58 to 5:03:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoing, cftc accused optiver holding, two of its subsidiaries and three employees with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude

5:03:10 to 5:03:22( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the new york mercantile exchange, which is a regulated exchange, i might add. optiver traders amassed large trading positions then conducted trades in such a

5:03:22 to 5:03:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: way to bully and hammer the markets, cftc acting chairman walter luken said. these charges go to the heart of the cftc's core mission of detecting and rooting out illegal manipulation of the markets.

5:03:36 to 5:03:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: i'd just like to say to the senator from north dakota that his leadership on this issue and coming to the floor repeatedly to tell us about the possibility that this was occurring i think has sparked this

5:03:46 to 5:03:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: commission to come to life, at least today, in terms of making these charges. i'm going to leave it story with the senator because i want him to -- to be able to put it in the record every time our

5:03:56 to 5:04:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: republican colleaguesic come to the floor and say speculation's not an issue. it's enough of an issue that there was a criminal charge today against a company for hammering and bullying the market.

5:04:07 to 5:04:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and i know this is not in the nature of a question but i'd like to ask the senator if he feels that this action by the cftc is an indication of what he's been saying over the last several months?th

5:04:17 to 5:04:27( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: mr. dorgan: well,do it appears that a federal agency has arisen from the dead. good for the cftc. i've been talking for a long while about the commodity futures trading commission being dead from the

5:04:27 to 5:04:40( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: neck up. this is, after all, the regulatory agency that's supposed to weared the striped shirts, have the whistle and call the fouls. this foul apparently is manipulation of the market. we're talking'r

5:04:27 to 5:24:58( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan

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Byron Dorgan: about manipulation here. good for them. if they've arisen from the dead and taken action against someone who's manipulating the marketplace.rk the cftc chairman, who you've just described, has spent the last

5:04:50 to 5:05:01( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: seven months saying there'sg no problem with the marketplace here. the marketplace is working just fine. the doubling of the price of oil and gas in the last decade has been because of supply and

5:05:01 to 5:05:10( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: demand. supply and demand, he says. and then about a month ago, he had an epiphany, the chairman did. must have had a good night's sleep. he woke up with this dream saying, okay, i've been saying

5:05:10 to 5:05:21( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: it's supply and demand that justifies the doubling in price. but, in fact accident we've a been doing an investigation for seven -- but, in fact, we've been doing an investigation for seven months.

5:05:21 to 5:05:33( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: so which is it? here's what it really i is. in the year twowrks 37% of the trades in the oil -- in the year 2000, 37% of the trades in the oil futures market were speculation trades, having nothinged

5:05:33 to 5:05:42( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to with hedging of a product between consumers and producers. 37% of the trades speculators. now, 71% of the trades are by speculators. they don't have any interest in buying oil, taking delivery of oil,

5:05:42 to 5:05:54( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: carrying a five-gallon can of oil or putting a quarter of oil in tir car. they don't have the foggiest interest in oil. they have interest in buying and selling contracts approximate making a big

5:05:54 to 5:06:05( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: profit. they've taken over this market place and broken the market. now, the proposition on the floor of the senate is to try to wring out this excess relentless speculation in this market. my colle

5:06:05 to 5:06:13( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: ague come -- my colleagues come to the floor o the senate and they've developed another narrative. because they don't want to tackle this i ssue of speculation. i said before, 47 in the minority -- 47 of

5:06:13 to 5:06:25( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the minority members of the senate have all indicated in one form or another speculation is a problem f. you believe that, help us with this bill -- speculation is a problem. if you believe that,

5:06:25 to 5:06:33( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: help with h us this bill. you come to the floor of the senate and you say, withly hl well, we need more drilling, as i just described, in the year 2020 we'll he more supply. i don't disagree with that.

5:06:33 to 5:06:45( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: let's talk about that. offer some amendments n. fact, the majority leader has offered offered -- amendments. in fact, the majority leader has offered, bring your amendment to the floor, we'll have

5:06:45 to 5:06:57( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: a vote on that. but w hat about next month? what about six months from now? how about let's do some things that are game changing in this country. how about the next decade between now and then,

5:06:57 to 5:07:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: let's work to really change the game. you know, i said s yesterday, john kennedy did not in the 1960's say, do you know whay,t, i'd like to have us try to go to the moon moon, i think we sonhould

5:07:07 to 5:07:17( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: think about going to the moon. i ink we should make an effort to get to the moon. he didn't say that. he said, by the end of the decade, we're going to put a man on the moon. and we did. now, what

5:07:17 to 5:07:28( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: is the -- the plan of all of tho se who have come to the floor of the united statess senate diminishing this amendment and degrading this amendment, saying we -- we shouldn't do this, dealing with

5:07:28 to 5:07:40( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: speculation, set this market right, we shouldn't do that? let's instead just focus on drilling. if that's the only thing you focus on, i mean, that's just us what i call yesterday forever. you want

5:07:40 to 5:07:53( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to wake up ten years from now and be in the same position, good for you. i don't. i think what we ought to do is this. let's at least address something that has broken thehe marketplace and doubled

5:07:53 to 5:08:08( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the price oedf oil and gas in the last year, something that experts have come to the congress to testify about and told us that some have said up to 40% of the current price of oil and gas is not and

5:08:08 to 5:08:20( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: cannot be justified by the supply and demand. it is because speculators have taken over this marketplace. you know, don't take it from me. take it from the c.e.o. of royal dutch shell. here's what he said

5:08:20 to 5:08:33( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: in april. "the oil fundamentals are no problem. they're the same as they were when oil was selling for $60 a barrel." well, if that's the case, what is the problem? the problem is just as i've described

5:08:33 to 5:08:45( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: in the chart. this market has been taken over by the speculators. now, my colleague comes and says, well, nymex and i.c.e. and and, you know, describes all that's going on, what an aggressive regulator

5:08:45 to 5:08:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: we have. do you know what? this regulator's been sending out no-action letters. isn't that a won tderful thing to perfectly describe a regulatory agency that wants to take no action for anything? it

5:08:56 to 5:09:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: has said, let me be willfully blind and not see what's happening. and, by the way, if i can't see what's happening in the over-the-counter market, the intercontinental exchange, all of the unregulated trades,