[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9] [House] [Page 12302] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]WHY SHOULD WE OPEN LAND FOR DRILLING WHEN BIG OIL ISN'T EVEN DRILLING WHERE THEY HAVE LEASES (Mr. WU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, it is no wonder that the only Republican solution to our record high gas prices is more drilling. Who would expect anything less when two former oil executives occupy the White House? The problem is that this has been the Republican energy plan for the last 7 years. It was created in secret by Vice President Cheney and oil executives. And it is responsible for the record high oil prices that we all face at the pump today. Republicans claim that we could lower the price at the pump if we would only approve more and more drilling leases. That is their rhetoric. Here are the facts. Oil companies do not need new areas to drill. They need to focus on areas that are already opened to them. Of the 42 million acres of Federal land currently leased by oil and gas companies, only about 12 million acres are actually being drilled to produce oil and natural gas. Madam Speaker, if the Republican claims about more drilling are correct, why aren't they demanding Big Oil explore drilling on the 30 million acres of Federal land that are already open to them but that they refuse to explore? ____________________