HERE IS A TRANSCRIPT of Senator Obama's remarks on energy policy at Glendale High School, Springfield, Missouri, July 30, 2008. The transcript was made from this video posted by the Springfield News-Leader, from about the 46:00-minute mark to about the 40:00-minute mark. Mr. Obama spoke from behind a podium with this sign: "Economic / Security / For American Families / www.barackobama.com."
And, and we can start finally doing something about our energy prices. I, I know, I know gas prices have gone down. It's a grand bargain now: $3.95, $3.95.
On, on my way over here, George Bush was on TV talking about his energy plan. Now think about it: Where has George Bush been over the last eight years?
Where was John McCain over the last 25? When I wanted to raise fuel-efficiency standards on cars, he said no. When we talked about investing in alternative energy and biofuels, he said no.
And now, suddenly, they've got the answer: We're gonna drill for more oil.
Now let, let me say this: First of all, you've got oil companies making record profits. No, no, no, no companies in history have made the kinds of profits the oil companies have made lately. They, they made $11 billion -- one company, ExxonMobil, made $11 billion, billion with a "b," last quarter. They made $11 billion the quarter before that. Makin' money hand over fist. Makin' out like bandits.
Now John McCain's idea first was to suspend the gas tax, which would have given you 30 cents a day for three months for a grand total of $28 in savings. That is if, if the oil companies actually lowered their prices at the pump. Of course, if they didn't, that just meant they were gonna pocket that extra $28. So that, everybody said that was a bad idea.
Now the latest scheme is, well, we're gonna drill offshore. Now I want to be absolutely clear to everybody about this: If I thought that I could provide you some immediate relief on gas prices by drilling off the shores of California, New Jersey . . . . [speaker broke off without completing the sentence].
I understand how desperate folks are. I meet, I met a guy who couldn't go on a job search and lost his job, couldn't go on a job search because of the high price of gas. Just couldn't fill up his tank.
I, I, I met a teacher in, in South Dakota who loved her job as a teacher on an Indian reservation. She had to quit because the drive was too far. She, it was taking up too much of her paycheck.
I know how bad people are hurting. So if I thought that by drilling offshore we could solve our problem, I'd do it.
But here's the problem: We have 3 percent of the world's proven oil reserves; we consume 25 percent of the world's oil.
The oil companies right now have 68 million acres of leases that they are not using. They are holding land that they're not drilling, and now they wanta get some more.
And we've got no guarantee that they're gonna end up actually using it. And if they did drill, there's, there's no law out there that says that the oil is only used by Americans. So it ends up going on the world oil market. China ends up buying it. India ends up buying it.
And you would not see a drop of oil for ten years. The soonest you would see a single drop of oil from any drilling off our shores would be ten years from now. Full production wouldn't start 'til twenty years from now.
And the most you would end up saving ten years or twenty years from now would be a few cents on the gallon, although at that point I figure oil, gasoline might be $12 a gallon. Who knows what it might be?
The point is: This is not real. I, I know it's tempting. The polls say the majority of Americans think that that's one of the ways we're gonna solve this problem. But it's not real.
And, and this is what Washington does: It pats you on the back and says we're gonna do something. And in the meantime, the oil companies are shoving this thing down the throats of Congress because they know everybody wants to try to pretend like they're doing something about the energy crisis. And they end up making out like bandits again.
So we don't need the same old tired answers. What we need is something new.
So what I've said is, first of all, let's make the oil companies drill where they've already got leases, since we've given it to 'em. Let's increase supply by makin' 'em do what they're supposed to do.
Let's look at oil speculators and make sure that the markets aren't being manipulated.
And let's get serious about alternative energy. Let's get serious about solar and wind and biodiesel. Let's raise fuel-efficiency standards on cars. Let's get plug-in hybrids all across America.
Let's finally free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil.
That's the direction we need to go.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
Comments