mr. chairman , opening up the offshore continental shelf will save $ 300 billion in natural gas costs over 20 years for our consumers and manufacturers . 
it is not just for businesses , but to heat and cool our homes we use natural gas . 
if we do not explore and produce off our potential , whether it be california , the eastern gulf of mexico , or anywhere else , we are going to continue to be held up by the world price . 
our consumers will pay for it . 
mr. chairman , i like the beaches in texas , i like them in florida and california , but i also know we need to use our natural resources . 
supply and demand for energy is out of whack and our nation needs more energy . 
the federal government tried to mandate demand reduction in the last energy crisis and it contributed to a nationwide recession we do not want to repeat . 
a recent gallup poll found that half of family budgets have been seriously affected by the recent rise in energy prices . 
opening the ocs could save $ 300 billion in natural gas costs over 20 years , for consumers and manufacturers . 
high natural gas costs are sending manufacturing jobs overseas , following the cheap gas . 
environmentally conscious nations like norway , denmark , canada , japan and the uk are safely and successfully producing natural gas from their coastal waters . 
no nation can produce energy more responsibly than ours . 
i have been on oil and gas rigs and they have such few discharges into the ocean , a medium sized fishing boat will leak more in a year . 
this amendment is a major opportunity for us to respond to today 's energy crisis with a national solution . 
i feel justified in supporting this amendment because i am from a coastal district . 
my constituents feel the same way as i do on this issue . 
chemical production and oil and gas exploration , processing , and refining are texas top coastal industries . 
my colleagues from florida and california think only they have beaches , but coastal tourism is texas 's second largest coastal industry . 
that fact alone shows the argument that oil and gas production and coastal tourism are mutually exclusive is just plain wrong . 
they are acting like chicken little , and can not point to one beach in texas that has been ruined by oil or natural gas production . 
there will be less need for lng facilities and lng tankers when we tap our own offshore resources so we can use the safest mode of transportation in the world -- pipelines . 
to address the needs of american families , we need a 3 pronged strategy . 
first , we need more production and infrastructure to meet our needs of today and tomorrow . 
second , we need more conservation to keep our economy going as resources become more competitive globally . 
third , we need more research to transition our economy to future sources of energy , for a time when petrochemicals are only used for materials , and not as an everyday fuel . 
supporting only long-term solutions and conservation is just not enough . 
it might be easier if it was , but we need to do more for today 's energy problems . 
we will need continued american energy production for some time . 
my point is not that we can drill our way to cheap oil or drill our way to energy independence . 
if we allow domestic production to die out , conservation and research will not save us , and we will have to pay a terrible economic price . 
i urge my colleagues to support oil and gas production in the outer continental shelf . 
