Army:
The Department of Energy has released the oil import figures for the month of March 2009. The data shows we imported 386 barrels at a cost of $18 billion. While we are importing less oil because of the recession, the percentage of oil we are importing is remaining disappointingly stable. The March numbers show we imported 65% percent of the oil we used.
Over the past 12 months, America has had to import nearly two-thirds of the oil we need. In 2008 that amounted to $475 billion dollars. Keep in mind, this is not a one-time payment like a stimulus package or a bail-out bill. This is an annual cost of over $400 billion per year.
In addition to the economic burden the need to import oil places on America, there is also a very real national security threat. Venezuela is our fourth largest oil provider (behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico). Hugo Chavez is certainly no friend to the United States and over the past few months has invited Russia to put military airbases in Venezuela; has reached out to form a stronger relationship with Iran; and has made a deal to sell huge amounts of oil to China as soon as China’s refining capacity is built up enough to accept it.
We need to take immediate steps to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. The most efficient – and the only large-scale answer available today – is to move a large segment of our heavy truck fleet – 18-wheelers – away from imported diesel to domestic natural gas.
Natural gas is cleaner than diesel, cheaper, more abundant and it is ours.
Our economy, our environment and our national security are at risk unless we take the necessary steps to reduce our need for imported oil.
Sincerely,
— Boone