Senator Cochran cosigned a letter sent to the Bush administration by Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski on August 1.  The letter urged the federal government to explore the potential oil reserves contained in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  It requested that President Bush issue an executive order requiring the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a seismic survey of ANWR’s coastal plain. 

CLICK HERE to read the letter sent to the Bush administration.

Senator Cochran spoke on the U.S. Senate floor again on Wednesday, July 30, urging the Senate to take action to provide meaningful energy reform before the Senate adjourned for August.  Read below Senator Cochran’s remarks on the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday.

“Mr. President, We will soon be adjourning the current session of the Senate, and we have yet to consider any meaningful proposals to help relieve the pressure all of our constituents are feeling because of the high cost of energy. Before we return home, we should pass a bill that encourages increased production of energy here at home to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

America has responded to the jump in the price of gasoline by driving less and using less, and the price of oil has decreased significantly in the last two weeks because of this. There is a direct link between supply and demand and the price of oil. In order to pay less for oil, we must have more supply and we must have our own domestic supplies. We have been debating a bill that will not increase supply or decrease demand. The democrats continue to thwart our efforts on this subject, and we find ourselves in a logjam.

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