HR0102

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The price of natural gas in the United States is 
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already the highest in the industrial world, has spiked again, 
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and shows continued volatility; and

 
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    WHEREAS, According to the federal Energy Information 
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Administration, total natural gas demand is projected to grow 
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by 48% over the next 25 years; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The United States and the State of Illinois are 
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increasingly reliant on natural gas in our energy supply, 
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creating an imbalance between natural gas supply and demand; 
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and
 
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    WHEREAS, Higher natural gas costs are passed on to 
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consumers in the form of spiraling home heating bills, more 
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expensive food, and higher prices for many pharmaceuticals and 
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consumer goods; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The volatility of natural gas prices is having a 
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negative effect on metal-treating, chemical, fertilizer, 
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plastics, aluminum, and steel producers as well as the 
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agricultural sector; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The chemical and plastics industries of the United 
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States, once leading exporters, now have large trade deficits, 
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in part due to rising natural gas prices, and have lost more 
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than $500 billion  in business to overseas competition and more 
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than 90,000 jobs; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Thousands of jobs in Illinois are threatened in 
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industries using natural gas as a raw material, including the 
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chemistry industry; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The chemistry industry annually generates a total 
 


 






HR0102
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LRB094 06189 MKM 36258 r




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of 351,000 jobs and $23 billion worth of chemistry products in 
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the State of Illinois, with exports totaling $3.5 billion; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The natural gas imbalance is a multi-faceted issue 
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and will require various solutions, including, but not limited 
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to, increased production, improved energy efficiency, greater 
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conservation, and increased importation; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we urge the President and the Congress of the United States of 
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America to enact legislation in the 109th Congress establishing 
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a domestic energy policy that will ensure an adequate supply of 
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energy and the appropriate infrastructure and that includes a 
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concerted national effort to promote greater energy efficiency 
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and produce a political consensus that will open promising new 
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areas for environmentally responsible natural gas production; 
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and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That suitable  copies of this resolution be 
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presented to the President of the United States, the President 
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pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House 
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of Representatives, and each member of the Illinois 
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congressional delegation.