Governors Schafer and Nelson Urge Stronger National Energy
Policy
Governors Ed Schafer (R-ND) and Ben Nelson (D-NE), in
separate remarks, urged the nation's energy producers to develop a stronger,
domestic energy policy at the mid-year meeting of the Interstate Oil and Gas
Compact Commission. Both governors favor increasing domestic energy production
and reducing oil imports.
"The debate over gasoline prices and taxes is
part of the broader problem of our nation's dependency on foreign oil. We [the
U.S.] import over 50 percent of our oil, and a 1994 Commerce Department study
found that the current level of imports is a threat to our national security,"
Schafer said.
Schafer is leading the Compact Commission's effort to
update its national energy policy.
"Just ten years from now, experts
predict that America will be importing about 65 percent of its oil -- with one
out of every three barrels coming from the volatile Persian Gulf. As a result
our trade deficit -- just from oil -- is expected to double to $100 billion a
year. How long can we as a nation sustain this monetary hemorrhage and maintain
our economic vitality?" Nelson said.
Governor Nelson is the current
chairman of the Compact Commission and Governor Schafer is the immediate past
chairman.
