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Bishop: Drilling a part of U.S. energy solution

• A multifaceted energy approach that includes domestic drilling is needed by the U.S., an Albany congressman says.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, said as a “pro-drilling” Democrat, he’s been “pounding” on congressional leadership to allow “us to exploit all of the domestic resources in this country.”

A member of the U.S. House since 1993, Bishop went immediately to issues of energy independence, food and national security during a 45-minute speech Thursday to members of two Albany Sertoma organizations.

Drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, “even if it’s minuscule, it will make us a little less dependent on foreign oil, especially in those Mid East countries that are not our friends,” he said.

Part of a conservative “Blue Dog” coalition of Democrats, Bishop, like presidential candidate Barack Obama, has recognized that drilling “has to be an essential part of any comprehensive portfolio,” said Bishop, co-chair of Obama’s Georgia campaign.

The portfolio includes alternative fuels, such as First United Ethanol LLC’s ethanol plant soon to open near Camilla, efforts to produce cellulosic ethanol, conservation and the vital role of agriculture in fuel production.

“It’s now, in fact, a reality that not only do farmers produce food and fiber, but they also are in fact producing fuel,” he said.

The House’s version of the “Gang of 10” bipartisan energy bill sponsored by Georgia Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson is the “Made in America” Energy Act of 2008 co-sponsored by Bishop, which incorporates drilling U.S. oil reserves, the use of alternative fuels, wind energy and nuclear power, and tax credits for the production of flex-fuel and bio-fueled vehicles, Bishop said.

As the United States approaches the point of importing some 40 percent of its food, it faces issues of national security — a limited ability to feed its people and safety risks inherent in imported foods, he said.

But the country has been “floundering” since 9/11, falling behind in technology because of a preoccupation with the War on Terror and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bishop said.

President John Kennedy, like President Franklin Roosevelt, “mobilized the country” to make scientific achievements.

“And we did. In 1969 we landed a man on the moon because we had the national will to do it,” he said.

The U.S. is lagging behind China, now the manufacturer of all Boeing’s tailfins — “a national security risk” — and the source of much of America’s steel, he said.

Sertoma member Chris Cohilas asked Bishop how U.S. policy should adapt to China’s emergence as a global power.

During a 1997 visit, Bishop observed extreme “focus” and a nation that educated its “best and brightest” in the U.S., while planning far into the future.

“They were preparing themselves to become the leader that they were centuries ago,” he said.

When it began to allow foreign investment, the rich nation took advantage of investors, who were allowed to own no more than 49 percent of companies and to use Chinese materials, he said.

Member Mike Gebhart asked Bishop about a “perception that price fixing or price gouging” for gasoline was going on in Dougherty County.

“We’ve got to police it with good congressional oversight,” Bishop said, “that has not been present until January of ’07,” when Democrats took over Congress.

Companies such as Haliburton enjoyed federal “no-bid contracts” and being paid for services not actually rendered because “nobody was looking over their shoulder until after it was over,” he said.