• NEWS / Lloyd Bentsen RELEASEUnited States Senator October 17, 1987 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BENTSEN ENDORSES CLEMENTS PROPOSAL FOR ENERGY COMMISSION SENATOR'S LETTER TO PRESIDENT URGES NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY Washington, D.C. - Senator Lloyd Bentsen, a long-time proponent of a national energy policy, asked President Reagan on Saturday to accept Texas Governor William Clements' proposal to establish a bipartisan blue-ribbon presidential commission on energy. In a letter to the President, Bentsen cited a new analysis that indicates the U.S. will never solve its trade problems without taking effective action to reduce dependence on foreign oil. "Failure to develop a meaningful energy policy will cripple efforts to reduce the trade deficit. Yet, crafting energy policy can be divisive, and should involve participation of wide-ranging interests," Bentsen said in the letter to President Reagan. "For that reason, I urge you to answer the recent call by Texas Governor William Clements and establish a blue-ribbon Presidential Commission on Energy," Bentsen said. "Tackling energy policy is a daunting challenge, Mr. President. But ...we will not resolve the trade crisis and stabilize our burgeoning international debt until we effectively address the energy crisis," he said. Bentsen cited new analyses by energy expert Philip Verleger Jr., Visiting Fellow at the Institute for International Economics, and the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO). The studies predict oil and other energy imports will soar to $140 billion by the early 1990s. "That will be $100 billion higher than the energy trade deficit this year of $40 billion, ensuring continued massive trade deficits and a ballooning international debt," Bentsen said. "The TIPRO analysis found that domestic oil production will continue declining by up to 500,000 barrels per day annually through 1992 unless prices rebound sharply. Meanwhile, modest continued growth in demand will cause oil imports to soar, doubling between 1985 and 1992, and imports will exceed the peril point of 50 percent of consumption as soon as 1989," Bentsen said. Bentsen, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said rising energy imports will likely aggravate the U.S. trade deficit. "What we've seen is a trade deficit that instead of going down has gone up this year, and a major part of that trade deficit has ben the importation of oil," Rpotsen said. "That means you can't really cut that trade deficit appreciably if we just continue to increase the dependence on foreign oil," Bentsen said. "I think you have to approach this in a bipartisan manner, such as a blue ribbon presidential commission to look at these energy questions, try to bring us an energy policy that'll turn this deficit around and give us more energy independence in this country of ours," Senator Bentsen said. -30-