US Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Environment and Public Works Committee's ranking minority member, in a Sept. 26 statement on a provision in the economic stimulus package before the Senate which would continue the moratorium on oil shale development:
"Continuing the ban on oil shale development indicates congressional Democrats are not serious about increasing American energy supply. Without congressional action, a one-year delay in lifting the ban on oil shale exploration could end up lasting much longer and, like the Outer Continental Shelf appropriations moratorium, continue year-after-year. This Congress has debated energy production for weeks, and an extension of this moratorium would do nothing to address increasing domestic energy supplies.
"This stimulus bill would extend the oil shale moratorium for another year despite the fact that the American people have demanded the moratorium be removed. Americans strongly desire the ability to utilize their plentiful domestic natural resources to help address high gas prices at the pump.
"It should now be absolutely clear to the American public that the Democrats' reversal on offshore drilling this week was nothing more than an election year ploy designed to mask their opposition to increasing American energy production. With skyrocketing energy costs we need to consider all sources of energy, from oil and natural gas exploration, to shale exploration in the West, to alternatives. We need it all."
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