Boone recently appeared on Dylan Radigan’s MSNBC program to talk about the Pickens Plan. As you know, Boone has often talked about the fact that every from Richard Nixon on has talked about reducing our dependence on foreign oil. This is how the segment began (from the MSNBC transcript):
(excerpt from a Richard Nixon speech, unidentified occasion and date)
President RICHARD NIXON: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need.
(end of excerpt)
(excerpt from a Ronald Reagan speech, unidentified occasion and date)
President RONALD REAGAN: The only way we can free ourselves from the monopoly pricing power of OPEC is to be less dependent on outside sources of fuel.
(end of excerpt)
(excerpt from a Barack Obama 2008 Democratic nomination acceptance speech)
President BARACK OBAMA: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
(end of excerpt)
RADIGAN: Decades of rhetoric from presidents on both sides of the aisle about ending our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and yet the numbers tell the true story. Based on the latest figures from the US Department of Energy, the US–the United States currently imports 63 percent of its oil, sending approximately 226 billion US dollars–that’s $468,000 per minute–to foreign governments.
America runs on oil. And, as we all know by now, reliance on foreign oil not just an energy issue. It’s a matter of our national security, our environment, and our independence as a nation. One reason–take a look at the map–these are the countries that are the major suppliers of crude oil to the United States, particularly the Middle East, which is always fun. (graphic of map showing American sources of oil)
Now, I’m gonna show you another map. This would be the countries designated by our State Department as dangerous and unstable. (graphic of map showing State Department-designated unstable countries) With the exception of Venezuela, which is not officially on the list but the State Department notes that the government’s distinctly anti-American stance is in place, and if you look at these two maps, you’ll see there’s a lot of overlap.
As we continue to borrow and buy from China, we give them our currency and they take our currency and gobble up global energy resources as quickly as possible to control energy for themselves and to protect themselves from a potential crash in our own currency as we print money by the trillion. (graphic entitled “China Gobbling Up Energy Resources”)
So, the big question that our government has struggled with for decades: do they have the ability to actually reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil? And what is America’s energy future? Quite a question.
Well, there’s quite a man, quite an American, in my view, in our Town Square today who has quite an answer. His name: T. Boone Pickens. He’s the chair of the investment group BP Capital. You have no doubt seen his ads for the Pickens Plan. He is with us today from Dallas.
And, Mr. Pickens, in addition to the pleasure that I get in saying your name–and many others do; T. Boone Pickens just makes you feel excited–you also have this plan. How does it work?
Mr. T. BOONE PICKENS (BP Capital Management Chairman): It’s–the only way you can do what the President said–and he made that statement when he got the nomination back in July of ’08–and at that time he said in 10 years we will not be importing any oil from the Mideast. The only way you can cause that to happen is you have to have a resource that will replace the foreign oil.
We get five million barrels a day from OPEC, and we have plenty of natural gas to replace a big part of that five million barrels a day.
(Graphic on screen):
PICKENS PLAN GOALS
* Reduce terror threat
* Reduce carbon emissions
* Create 3.4 million jobs
* End reliance on oil
Mr. PICKENS: The way we’d start off is to do it on the heavy-duty 18-wheelers. Eight million of them. If we did the eight million 18-wheelers we would cut OPEC in half. That’s two and a half million barrels a day. OPEC sells us five million a day, so we could cut them in half by putting our 18-wheelers on natural gas.
RADIGAN: What’s the barrier to doing that?
Mr. PICKENS: We’ve got the legislation in place. It’s led by the majority leader, Harry Reid, who understands the situation very well. On the Republican side is Orrin Hatch and another lead Democrat is Senator Menendez from New Jersey.
Over in the House you’ve got John Larson [Chairman of the Democratic House Caucus] is your leader, and you’ve got two other very good co-sponsors of that bill, which is HR 1835, are Dan Boren and John Sullivan – one Republican and one a Democrat – both from Oklahoma.
So, everything’s set. The House bill has 137 cosponsors. So this could–if we could get it in place–this could go as a stand-alone bill and pass quickly.
RADIGAN: What of those who say, ‘Listen, Dylan Radigan might like saying “T. Boone Pickens” and he might think T. Boone Pickens is smart and understands this and he makes a good case, but T. Boone Pickens is nothing more than a rich guy who’s trying to use the government to try to pick everybody else off.
Mr. PICKENS: Is that the question?
RADIGAN: Yeah, it’s a question. How do we know that’s not what you are?
Mr. PICKENS: Well, I’ve spent $62 million telling the story. First the problem, second the solution. And if I wanted to make money, I wouldn’t have spent the 62 million; I’d have just kept my money.
And if it was today that I was going to do this, I would not do it because when I did it, and when I kicked this off in July of 2008, I had the money, and today I would not put $62 million in it even though I consider myself to be a patriotic American who is on a mission, and the mission is get us off of the OPEC oil because we’re paying for both sides of the war there.
RADIGAN: I get it. Mr. Pickens, thank you. I’m out of time. I want to look at this like the beginning of a conversation. I hope not the end. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for the information, the analysis, and I hope, again, for a continuation sooner than later.
T. Boone Pickens and the Pickens Plan. You can check it out at pickensplan.com.
— The Pickens Team