Congressional Digest

Excerpt

In his January 2006 State of the Union message to Congress,
President George W. Bush pronounced that the
United States was “addicted to oil.” In fact, the country uses
20.6 million barrels of petroleum products each day —
about one-fourth of global consumption. Over the next
quarter-century, world oil demand is expected to rise by
about 50 percent because of population growth and the consumerism
that comes with it.
About 20 percent of domestic oil production and 27
percent of domestic natural gas production takes place offshore.
However, in 1981, Congress acted to protect
America’s coasts, beaches, an…