mr. chairman , i yield myself the balance of my time . 
mr. chairman , i would like to close with one statistic . 
in 1981 there were some 1.6 million people employed in the oil and gas industry . 
today , at the end of 2004 , that number now just barely reaches 500 , 000 . 
a dramatic decrease in the number of good , solid jobs in this economy and jobs in an industry that is clearly vital to our national interest . 
i encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the amendment . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
