Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
7340828
label
Text of Remarks by the President to be Delivered to Dedication Ceremonies at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Midland, Texas [Ford Speech or Statement]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
7340828
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Text of Remarks by the President to be Delivered to Dedication Ceremonies at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Midland, Texas [Ford Speech or Statement]
citationUrl
collections
White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
7340828
levelOfDescription
item
productionDates
day
11
logicalDate
1975-09-11
month
9
year
1975
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
671fa379bc885fc8
ocrText
Digitized from Box 15 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 11, 1975
UPON DELIVERY AT 5:00 PM, CDT,
6:00 PM, EDT, Saturday,
September, 11, 1975
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
TEXT OF REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO BE DELIVERED TO
DEDICATION CEREMONIES AT THE
PERMIAN BASIN PETROLEUM MUSEUM
MIDLAND, TEXAS
I am delighted to be here in West Texas -- an area rich in natural resources --
oil, natural gas, cattle, good land and good people. I am particularly pleased
to be here to take part in the dedication of this fascinating petroleum museum.
And I particularly appreciate and enjoyed that shower of rose petals. Believe
me, in the last year, when it comes to oil, I've had very little coming up
roses. But I think it very significant that the drilling rig behind me is named
after Santa Rita -- the patron saint of the impossible. When it comes to the
good of our country, Americans have always joined together and worked together
to achieve the seemingly impossible. I am certain that in the weeks ahead,
the Congress and I will be able to do so once again -- to give our Nation
an energy program that will cut us free from dependence on interruptible
foreign supplies. America's energy future must be burs to decide. It cannot
be entrusted to the policies or passions of others in far-off foreign lands.
And I want to thank the man who invited me out here, my long-time close
friend, George Mahon. George and I spent countless hours working together
on the House Committee on Appropriations, and I know what a hardworking,
dedicated Representative he is. Historians say we closed the American
frontier in 1890, but in Midland in 1975, the adventurous spirit of the frontier
is obviously still thriving. The enterprise and spirit of the hardworking people
of West Texas shows in the productivity of this region. This area furnishes
the Nation cattle and cotton -- oil and natural gas.
You have also demonstrated how much Americans can accomplish with the right
incentives. Incentives are the fuel of our free market system -- and the
energy West Texas helps supply is the fuel of our economy. The Permian
Basin produces 25 percent of the Nation's domestic oil and 20 percent of the
United States natural gas production. To keep this oil and natural gas flowing
from this region, the Nation must make it economically feasible to search for
new production and development methods.
This is one of the major reasons I believe decontrol of domestic oil prices
is SO necessary. The vote in the United States Senate this week sustaining my
veto of an extension of the oil price controls has paved the way for decontrol.
We are finally on the road to energy independence. Since 1971, America's
bill for imported oil has climbed from just over $3 billion annually to $25
billion today -- a 700 percent increase.
(MORE)
- 2 -
The $25 billion could provide more than one million jobs for Americans.
Although the 4.5 percent unemployment rate in Midland in August is below
the national level -- it is higher than usual here. Unemployment is a
problem worrying all Americans. It is a problem that must be solved by
a healthy, thriving economy. With foreign producers supplying 40 percent
of our oil needs, American jobs and dollars are being held hostage by
other countries. We cannot control either the price or the supply of imported
oil. That makes us vulnerable to economic disruptions -- disruptions we
can ill-afford if we are to continue to expand our economic system.
If we don't give America's oil industry the incentives to search for new
sources and new production techniques through decontrol and if we continue
the present trend, within ten years we will import more than half of the oil
we need. Energy keeps this Nation going. Energy is the pump of our
economic system. Unless we make some tough decisions about energy now,
the Nation is in danger of suffering a dangerous energy emergency which could
come at anytime. Decontrolling oil prices at home will move us toward energy
independence abroad. Energy independence will require that we find new
energy sources and develop new methods -- but those solutions will not come
overnight. Action must be taken now to spur the search for new sources.
Research and development are critical elements in my proposed national
energy program.
But in the next few years, we will have to rely on our most readily obtainable
energy resources -- oil, natural gas and coal -- to meet our energy needs.
Natural gas is one of the most environmentally acceptable forms of energy.
But despite the many plusses of natural gas, the history of the Federal
Government's policy toward this valuable asset has been a very sorry one.
Over the past 20 years, the Federal Power Commisson has kept interstate
prices at an artifically low level -- and that has seriously hampered ex-
ploration and development. We must stop Federal regulation of prices on
new gas for interstate use. I can assure you that natural gas deregulation
is an Administration priority.
Solving the energy problem goes back to some basic American principles.
We must put back into our economic system more old-fashioned incentives.
The profit incentive -- the search for a better life -- populated this continent.
It brought thousands of dreamers to West Texas -- men and women willing
to risk all to find a livelihood on the land or under the land. What has
made America unique? The explanations are as varied as this vast Nation
itself. But I am convinced that perhaps the key to our uniqueness is that we
wrote into our first great document -- the inalienable right of the pursuit of
happiness. In that pursuit -- Americans have dreamed big dreams -- taken
great risks -- sometimes failed miserably and sometimes succeeded magnifi-
cently. But that freedom to dare is the secret of our greatest national
achievements. The men and women to whom this museum is dedicated lived
and enjoyed that freedom to the fullest. The spirit of enterprise and daring
this museum records in the petroleum industry must be kept alive all across
America. So in the memory of those who dared to follow their dreams --
I dedicate this museum.
#
#
#