Terry Everett, October 17, 2005

The recent spike in prices at the pump has caused concern about what may be happening to America's fuel supply. There is no single reason for the current sharp upturn in gasoline prices, but a combination of increased international demand for crude oil, a limited refining capacity at home, and domestic energy production disruptions due to natural disasters figure prominent. Natural disasters cannot be prevented, but we can do something about the location and number of refineries.

The world is using more oil than ever and explosive growth in the economies of the two most populous nations, China and India, is at the heart of this consumption. The United States requires abundant energy too and we must look inward to help meet our demand.

The majority of oil used in this country comes from overseas and the trend of foreign oil dependence is increasing. Beginning ten years ago Congress tried to tap new American oil by passing legislation calling on environmentally safe exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The addition of ANWR would have meant one million more barrels of oil today for America's economy. But President Clinton vetoed the use of ANWR and it has been on hold ever since, despite Republican led efforts.

Realizing that America needed a new strategy to cope with anticipated future shortfalls, the U.S. House of Representatives passed four comprehensive energy plans from August 2001 to July 2005 before the Senate finally secured the votes to pass such legislation. Accordingly, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act (HR 6) into law in August. This new law encourages new energy production, both from fossil fuel and alternative sources, but due to Democrat objections, this law did not address several critical issues, among them an inadequate number of oil refineries.

As we witnessed in the hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, our nation's oil refineries are limited in number and overly concentrated in "hurricane alley" making the nation vulnerable to gas supply disruption which quickly drives up prices. No new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976 and their number has dropped by over half since 1981. For the first seven months of 2005, total refinery capacity was 17 million barrels a day, while U.S. demand shot above 21 million barrels daily.

On October 7, the U.S. House passed the Gasoline for America's Security (GAS) Act (HR 3893). It directs the president to select sites for new oil refineries on appropriate Federal land (including closed military bases) in other areas of the country, and it promotes the construction of more refineries and refurbishing old ones no longer in use. The GAS Act also promotes new oil and gas pipeline construction to bring fuel to refineries and consumers.

The GAS Act would also limit the number of "boutique" or special blends of gas that many states require to meet local environmental requirements. These fuels have contributed to the cost of gas in some portions of the country by artificially limiting fuel supply.

The GAS Act would also make price gouging a Federal crime - supplementing today's patchwork of state anti-gouging laws that lack sufficient deterrent on their own.

The GAS Act is important to minimize future disruption as our country seeks new domestic energy sources. It must now pass the U.S. Senate before President Bush can sign it into law.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.