Iraqis Should Share In Reconstruction Cost
Senator
John Ensign today (May 1, 2008) cited Iraq’s record-breaking oil revenue as
further evidence that Iraqis should pay for more of their own reconstruction
efforts. As the Senate prepares to debate our spending policies in Iraq, Ensign
is working with a select bipartisan group on legislation to place more of the
financial burden on Iraqis.
“New
reports project that Iraq’s oil revenue could reach a record $70 billion this
year,” said Ensign, who in 2003 authored an amendment with Senator Evan Bayh on
the issue of loans versus grants for Iraq. “Today’s report shows that Iraq’s oil
exports are the highest they’ve been since the start of the war. Now is the
time to require Iraqis to invest more in their own future.”
A report
by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction was released this week
and cites a windfall of profits in Iraq from oil exports. If Iraq is able to
maintain its current production levels and exports for the remainder of the
year, revenues will double previous expectations.
Ensign,
long a leading advocate on Capitol Hill for providing loans to Iraq instead of
grants, signed a letter to the President emphasizing this concern.
“The
time has come to end this blank check policy,” Ensign and ten senators wrote to
the President. “To address this problem, we are working on legislation that
will require many of these costs to be provided in the form of a loan.”
The
Senate is preparing to debate a war spending bill and the annual defense
authorization bill in the coming weeks. Ensign is considering legislative
options to ensure that language is included that requires Iraqis to share in the
financing of reconstruction efforts.
“It is
becoming clear that support for this is growing in the Senate,” Ensign added.
“It’s a matter of responsibility with American tax dollars now that Iraq’s oil
is producing significant revenue.”
The Bayh-Ensign
2003 amendment would have required a portion of reconstruction funds for Iraq to
be provided in the form of a loan. The amendment passed the Senate 51 – 47, but
was not signed into law.
We Need To Develop Domestic Energy
Senator
John Ensign called for Congressional action to increase energy production in the
United States and address the rising price of gas that is crippling the budget
of so many families.
“Parents
driving their children to school, commuters going to the office and families
planning vacations are all feeling a pinch when they fill their gas tanks,” said
Ensign. “As a country we still rely on oil from hostile nations, despite having
significant domestic resources that can be explored in an environmentally
friendly way.”
The
American Energy Production Act of 2008 would expand domestic production and help
lower gas prices. The legislation would open the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge (ANWR) for exploration, tap into supplies on the Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) and develop oil shale resources. If enacted, this bill would lead to the
estimated production of up to 24 billion barrels of oil, enough to supply the
United States for five years with no foreign imports.
“Alaska
alone can supply Nevada with oil for 226 years,” said Ensign. “Our energy
policy is important to our strategic foreign policy. We must put the right
policies in place today to have energy security tomorrow.”
Additional information on the American Energy Production Act of 2008:
·
Opens ANWR for oil exploration, which holds 10.4 billion barrels of
recoverable oil and would save the United States $40 billion annually, money now
spent buying oil overseas.
·
Allows for leasing activities in the Pacific and Atlantic regions
of the OCS in order to tap into 14 billion barrels of known recoverable oil.
Development is at the discretion of coastal state governors and would be greater
than 50 miles offshore, well beyond visibility from land.
·
Develops 2 trillion barrels of oil shale that exist in Colorado,
Wyoming and Utah.
