mr. speaker , i will enter into the record a letter that a number of us in this house wrote to the secretary of the treasury with respect to this transaction . 
i am one who has supported free trade since i have been in the congress and i support it today . 
if it were true that this were a market-based transaction , as the preceding speaker has said , i would not be standing here talking about this issue whatsoever . 
the fact of this is this is not a free market transaction . 
this is a transaction by a government-owned company , financed by the government of china , financed with subsidies with the government of china and it puts every other competitor for the assets that they are seeking to acquire at a disadvantage . 
there are substantial questions here about the motives of the chinese as well . 
i have been dealing with oil and gas issues for a very long time as a representative from louisiana , and ordinarily one thinks of the oil and gas market as one where free commodities move and oil is a very fungible commodity . 
but what we have here is a chinese government with an accelerating demand for oil and gas trying to find a way to corner a market here and to put it to their exclusive use . 
this is unheard of in the oil and gas commodities market . 
no one ever thinks that one explores for oil and then uses the oil only in the place where they have their own demand and not make it available to the rest of the world . 
that is the scary part of what is happening here . 
as china seeks more and more assets that they themselves control and they themselves corner , it makes it much more difficult for us to argue that this is a free economy , a market-based economy . 
that is the real reason i have come to this microphone tonight . 
i think it is important to support this resolution , and i think the actions we are taking today by the congress were appropriate to be taken . 
i think the warning signs that are going up from this house about the chinese government 's interest in cornering the market on a strategic asset such as petroleum today , is a dire warning indeed and one we should take heed of . 
so i urge the members of the house and all who are within the sound of our voice to take heed of this warning and to support this important resolution . 
congress of the united states , washington , dc , june 24 , 2005 . 
dear mr . 
secretary , energy security is a matter of significant and ever increasing importance for the united states . 
in particular , we are very concerned about china 's ongoing and proposed acquisition of energy assets around the world , including assets of u.s.-based energy and oil companies . 
china is now the second largest consumer of energy in the world , right behind the united states . 
in order to fulfill the energy consumption requirements of its growing population , china has developed an aggressive strategy to acquire offshore assets to supplement its limited domestice supply of resources . 
it will become increasingly difficult for u.s.-based companies to compete for scarce energy resoures on the world market against china 's state-owned and/or controlled energy companies . 
to that end , we are very concerned to read reports that the china national offshore oil corporation ( cnooc ) -- whose majority owner is the chinese government -- is planning to make an offer to acquire one of america 's leading independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production companies . 
moreover , it is our understanding that two influential chinise government agencies have reportedly given tentative approval to this acquisition by cnooc . 
as you are aware , the committee on foreign investment in the united states ( cfius ) was established to monitor the impact of foreign investment in the united states and to coordinate the implementation of u.s. policy on foreign investment . 
in 1988 , cfius was given additional authority under section 721 of the defense production act of 1950 ( the exon-florio amendment ) to authorize the president to conduct investigations to determine the impact of foreign acquisitions of u.s. companies on national security . 
given what we know about cnooc to date , we think this potential transaction should be reviewed immediately by cfius to investigate the implications of the acquisition of u.s. energy companies and assets by cnooc and other government controlled chinese energy companies . 
as the official chair of cifus , we would request that the treasury department look into this proposed acquisition to determine whether an official cfisus investigation should be undertaken should an official offer come from cnooc . 
specifically , the cfius should review the following issues , among others : whether and to what extent the chinese government is involved in financing any potential acquisitions by cnooc ; whether such investments by cnooc are market-based and free of subsidies ; whether there are technology transfer implications of these investments that present national security concerns ; and how cnooc investments in the u.s. energy sector and acquisitions of u.s.-based energy and oil companies advance china 's energy agenda to the detriment of u.s. national security objectives . 
mr. secretary , we know that you understand well the critical importance of ensuring u.s. energy security and the critical need to secure the future availability of energy resources for american consumers . 
we ask that you treat this matter with the utmost urgency and report back to us with yout findings . 
sincerely , 