June 24, 2008
The Honorable John Boehner
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Minority Leader Boehner:
I write today in strong support of H.R. 3089, legislation that would greatly increase access to many of our nation’s vast, untapped petroleum reserves and incentivize the development of much-needed new refining capacity in this country.
In recent months, the price of fuel has become the single largest cost center for the U.S. airline industry – surpassing labor costs and approaching 40 percent of all industry expenses. As a result of skyrocketing energy costs, we estimate that U.S. airlines will spend in excess of $61 billion on fuel this year alone. To put that in context, our fuel costs were approximately $41 billion last year and a mere $12 billion as recently as 2002.
Given the energy-intensive nature of our industry, airlines are being crushed by the weight of these skyrocketing fuel costs. Just last week, the Air Transport Association released revised financial estimates for the industry that project losses this calendar year between $7 billion and $13 billion. Without relief from today’s high fuel prices, it is possible that one or more of the companies in our industry will not survive, sending the entire air travel system in this country into turmoil and interrupting – and possibly terminating – air service to countless communities around the country. The only way to alleviate this threat is to provide relief from current high fuel prices.
While there are several causes for today’s record-high prices, one of the most significant factors is tight fuel stocks caused by an inadequate supply of crude oil in the marketplace. This legislation would make tremendous strides toward unlocking the additional domestic crude oil volumes and refinery capacity that we need to address this serious problem and provide our nation with the energy it needs to create new jobs and grow our economy.
I commend Congressman Thornberry on his strong leadership on this vital national issue and I encourage House leadership to schedule this legislation for immediate consideration.