It was a mistake then, and it is still a bad idea. It drained $79 billion from the industry and reduced the rate of return for producing oil in this country.
We are an industry already doing a lot. ... We're already investing vast amounts.
Some people and politicians who have been attacking the industry seem to think that our companies are owned by space aliens. It's as though simply taking money from or criticizing a company is not going to affect millions of Americans who have invested in it.
It is important to do no harm. The worst thing Congress could do now would be to repeat the mistakes of the past by overriding the structures of the free marketplace (by) imposing new controls, allocation schemes, new taxes on industry or other obstacles.
It's a stain on the industry that's unfair. It's just disappointing.