Chamber Praises Senate Passage of Bill as First Step to Open Up Additional Energy Resources

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the Senate for its passage of S. 3711, The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, a bill that would only open a small portion of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas development.

"While not a comprehensive solution, this bill is an important first step in granting Americans access to oil and natural gas resources by striking a balance between national energy needs and state-specific environmental concerns," said Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber executive vice president. "We know where the energy is, and we know we can extract it in an environmentally friendly way. It's time to go get it."

The Chamber is urging House and Senate conferees to develop a comprehensive proposal to expand the domestic production of resources located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The OCS as a whole is estimated to contain 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and more than 85 billion barrels of oil. That amount would satisfy all domestic industrial and commercial needs for almost 30 years, or heat more than 72 million homes for 60 years. The projected amount of oil would provide a 15-year supply of gasoline for 132 million cars and heating oil for 54 million homes.

"All of the nations of the world need huge new supplies of energy, so we cannot continue to ignore our domestic resources. S. 3711 is an important first step in ensuring that Americans have the affordable and reliable energy they need to fuel economic growth and maintain our standard of living," said Josten.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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