The U.S. needs to reduce its dependence on oil and natural gas imports. That is according to Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin, who says that the lack of competition in the oil industry and the current high prices are even more of a reason to decrease dependence.
The U.S. has not built a new oil refinery since the 1970s and Kind says that is likely not going to change, so the U.S. needs alternative methods beyond oil and natural gas.
“They will always literally have us over the barrel by not making the investments, by not increasing production, and you can look at the other potential sources that could ramp up fairly quickly. These are not good countries, like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia even. I mean, to be dependent on them to increase production when prices go up, I think it’s a fool’s strategy and we have to be smarter as we go forward in the future.”
Kind says that oil companies do not want competition that decreases prices because that cuts into their profits and there is little lawmakers can do to change that.
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