By:  Fraser                                                     S.C.R. No. 6  
	(In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2005; March 2, 2005, 
read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce; 
March 9, 2005, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, 
Nays 0; March 9, 2005, sent to printer.)


SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

	WHEREAS, The price of natural gas in the United States is 
among the highest in the industrial world and continues to show 
great volatility; and
	WHEREAS, Abnormally high natural gas prices have been an 
unanticipated burden on the economy of the United States over the 
past 18 months; and
	WHEREAS, The United States is reliant on natural gas in our 
national energy supply, and forecasts predict a future imbalance 
between natural gas supply and demand; and
	WHEREAS, Manufacturers, farmers, small businesses, local 
governments, and retailers are struggling from the uncertainty in 
natural gas prices, and thousands of jobs are threatened because 
many businesses use natural gas as a raw material as well as a 
source of energy; and
	WHEREAS, The natural gas imbalance is not a free-market 
problem; the high price of natural gas is created by governmental 
policies that increase demand for natural gas while impeding the 
development of a greater supply of natural gas by discouraging more 
exploration and production; and
	WHEREAS, The United States needs policies to encourage and 
ensure the safe and efficient domestic production and importation 
of natural gas; and
	WHEREAS, The State of Texas supports a sound, rational 
domestic energy policy; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact 
legislation in the 109th Congress establishing a domestic energy 
policy that will ensure an adequate supply of natural gas, the 
appropriate infrastructure, and a concerted national effort to 
promote greater energy efficiency and that will open promising new 
areas for environmentally responsible natural gas production; and, 
be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the 
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the 
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.



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