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On a conference call with reporters, Bachmann said Congress should open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and allow for the expansion of oil exploration in other areas including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
The Republican from Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District repeated her assertion that if the U.S. more thoroughly taps its own energy sources, gas prices could be cut in half back to around $2 a gallon. She said it would send a signal to the world market that the U.S. is serious about addressing oil prices.
“It’s like having a room full of hungry children and a pantry full of food with a lock on it,” is how Bachmann described the refusal of congressional leaders to authorize more domestic energy production.
Many energy experts have disputed the idea that authorizing more domestic drilling would have much impact on global oil prices anytime in the near future. Elwyn Tinklenberg, the endorsed Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Bachmann in the 6th District, called her plan “just not credible by any measure or standard.”
Tinklenberg is opposed to drilling in ANWR, but said he would support more domestic drilling in areas where oil companies already hold leases. He said Congress should also move to dampen speculation in the oil market; on Tuesday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a Democratic bill that attempts to curb oil speculation. Democratic leaders in Congress have mostly indicated they are opposed to allowing more offshore drilling.
Bachmann said that research and promotion of alternative fuels like wind and solar power, and conservation, are also important aspects of addressing rising fuel costs — which she called “the number one topic of conversation” among her constituents. But, she said, “Americans conserving will not solve our energy prices. The best and fastest key is to increase energy production in America.”
