Last updated on August 11th, 2014 at 12:04 am
Oil man T. Boone Pickens testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee today that the energy crisis is a national security threat and an emergency that needs to be dealt with immediately.
“By spending this $700 billion year importing oil- more than four times the cost of the Iraqi War — we are strangling our economy and putting ourselves and our nation in greater harm’s way. All without our enemies ever having to raise a hand in anger. This is more than a disturbing trend line. It is a recipe for national disaster. This is a crisis that cannot be left to the next generation to solve and shame on all of us if we don’t grab this bull by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. And we must do it now,” Pickens said.
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Pickens’s plan is different from Al Gore’s because he favors offshore oil drilling and drilling in ANWR, and he is more concerned that the foreign oil alternative is 100% American. “I’m for everything that’s American,” he said. “I only have one enemy, that’s foreign oil. That’s what I want to get rid of.” Pickens said that he has spoken to Gore and he told him that, “Global warming to me is page two. I told Al I’ll get to page two after we clean up page one” – reducing the 72 percent of American energy produced by imported foreign oil.”
Gore and Pickens have two different goals that share some overlaps. Gore is interested in climate change, and Pickens is interested in getting rid of our dependence on foreign oil, by using wind and natural gas, but both men agree that we can’t drill our way out of this problem.
I think Pickens can be very important in this debate with Republican members of Congress who have been outright hostile to an alternative energy policy. This should not be a partisan issue. The energy crisis isn’t a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It is an American problem that both parties should be working together to solve. If Pickens and Gore can get on the same page, there is no reason why our politicians can’t join them.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
