Encouraging the United States Congress to pass S. 2214, a bill opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible exploration, development, and production of its oil and gas resources.

U.S. oil production has fallen 17 percent during the Clinton-Gore Administration to the lowest annual production rate since 1954. At the same time U.S. consumption has risen approximately 14 percent. As of February 2000, America is importing approximately 56 percent of our daily oil consumption, 44 percent of which comes from countries that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This amounts to 10.5 million barrels of the roughly 19 million barrels we consume per day.

The dramatic decline in domestic oil production and the resulting dependence on foreign oil production is directly attributable to America's failure to develop a long-term energy policy. To be successful this policy needs to address not only the promotion of alternative technologies and fuels but must also recognize that, for the foreseeable future, Americans will be dependent on petroleum and natural gas to power our nation's industry, transportation systems, and economy.

America's energy industry has also been damaged. Jobs in the energy section have declined from 405,000 in 1990 to 293,000; a 28 percent drop over the last 10 years. A further sign of decline is that exploration rigs searching for oil have fallen from 657 in 1990 to 153 in February, 2000 -- a 77 percent decline. Alaska and America can ill afford to continue our increased dependency on oil imports from foreign countries while exporting our jobs to these same nations.

Industry and government experts recognize the Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as the single most promising unexplored region in the U.S. for a major oil and gas discovery. In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Coastal Plain of ANWR could have up to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil - similar in size to volume of oil expected to be recovered from Prudhoe Bay.

In an effort to accommodate America's energy needs, the Federal government currently employs a strategy of encouraging foreign countries to produce more oil to be made available for import to the United States. The fallacy of this strategy is evidenced by the dramatic price fluctuation of oil in recent years. Further failure of this approach is the three recessions since 1973 triggered by rising imported oil prices which were primarily driven by consumer demand and reduced domestic production.

SJR 39 supports our congressional efforts to develop a long-term energy policy for America, which includes opening access to promising areas, like ANWR, in an effort to increase domestic oil and gas production. Only then will America lessen the grip that foreign oil producing nations have on our economy and consumers.