Date: 2006-06-21
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I would just like to go back to energy prices and gas prices. Just to zero in on one of the things that is the most galling about the direction that the Republican Congress has taken us in. gas prices are up. I am one of those minivan moms. I have little kids and when I go home. I am going to dance class and soccer games and shuttling them all over my district. It is a lot of driving. With three kids. you have to .have a large enough vehicle to fit the car seats and the stuff and the athletic equipment and the dance bags. and so minivans are an essential piece of life when you are a mom or dad with little kids. It costs like $55 to fill up the gas tank of a minivan. I have reached the conclusion that the only explanation for the continued direction that our Republican colleagues have taken us in when it comes to gas prices and refusing to deal with the energy crisis and refusing to adequately fund. if fund at all. alternative energy..sources. is. because they obviously havent filled their own tanks of gas since gas pumps looked like this. This is a replica of a gas pump from the 1950s or thereabouts. Itruly believe they must not pump their own gas. or the last time they did. pumps looked like this or. they would be feeling the pain. You cannot stand there for as long as you stand there for squeezing the pump and watching the tally click by. $10. $20. $30. $40. $50. You cant do that. even if you can afford it. without it being somewhat painful. Think about it. think about the mom or dad who is just barely making ends meet. They are barely making ends meet before gas went over $3 a gallon. When is enough enough? Where is the outrage? Where is the legislation? Where. is the oversight? Why arent they calling the CEOs of the oil companies and asking is it possible that they are not in collusion. that they are not conspiring to set prices the same. It is mind boggling. I dont understand why they dont care. That is -clearly the message that is sent here. What we would do. we would make sure that we could. within 10 years. be independent of foreign oil by pursuing alternative energy research like ethanol. Brazil has done it. This is our innovation agenda. For anyone on the other side of the aisle who wants to continue to perpetuate the myth that Democrats have no agenda. here is a big piece of it in several colors. not just black and white. This innovation agenda includes a number of things. not the least of which is our ability to truly end our addiction to foreign oil which the President talked about in his State of the Union. and only talked about and did nothing to change it. Our innovation agenda would help us get there. It would also make sure that we give people universal access to broadband in 5 years. It also does a number of other things to take us in a new direction. I know I have focused specifically in on one part of the problem. but because that is something that people deal with every single day or every couple of days when their gas light goes on and their tank runs empty. and I know you both agree with me that it is something that we need to put the magnifying glass on.