HR0102 LRB094 06189 MKM 36258 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The price of natural gas in the United States is
3 already the highest in the industrial world, has spiked again,
4 and shows continued volatility; and
 
5     WHEREAS, According to the federal Energy Information
6 Administration, total natural gas demand is projected to grow
7 by 48% over the next 25 years; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The United States and the State of Illinois are
9 increasingly reliant on natural gas in our energy supply,
10 creating an imbalance between natural gas supply and demand;
11 and
 
12     WHEREAS, Higher natural gas costs are passed on to
13 consumers in the form of spiraling home heating bills, more
14 expensive food, and higher prices for many pharmaceuticals and
15 consumer goods; and
 
16     WHEREAS, The volatility of natural gas prices is having a
17 negative effect on metal-treating, chemical, fertilizer,
18 plastics, aluminum, and steel producers as well as the
19 agricultural sector; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The chemical and plastics industries of the United
21 States, once leading exporters, now have large trade deficits,
22 in part due to rising natural gas prices, and have lost more
23 than $500 billion in business to overseas competition and more
24 than 90,000 jobs; and
 
25     WHEREAS, Thousands of jobs in Illinois are threatened in
26 industries using natural gas as a raw material, including the
27 chemistry industry; and
 
28     WHEREAS, The chemistry industry annually generates a total

 

 

HR0102 - 2 - LRB094 06189 MKM 36258 r

1 of 351,000 jobs and $23 billion worth of chemistry products in
2 the State of Illinois, with exports totaling $3.5 billion; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The natural gas imbalance is a multi-faceted issue
4 and will require various solutions, including, but not limited
5 to, increased production, improved energy efficiency, greater
6 conservation, and increased importation; therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9 we urge the President and the Congress of the United States of
10 America to enact legislation in the 109th Congress establishing
11 a domestic energy policy that will ensure an adequate supply of
12 energy and the appropriate infrastructure and that includes a
13 concerted national effort to promote greater energy efficiency
14 and produce a political consensus that will open promising new
15 areas for environmentally responsible natural gas production;
16 and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18 presented to the President of the United States, the President
19 pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House
20 of Representatives, and each member of the Illinois
21 congressional delegation.