Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I think you are right. I think also. as the summer begins and then wears on and we have an opportunity in the summertime to go home and spend some time in our districts and interact with our constituents. that the issues that pile up. at were going to have a difficult time dealing with. because we are still mired in this hopeless war in Iraq. are going to continue to fray the patience of the American people. and I think our friends on the other side of the aisle will hear from their constituents. I keep wanting to move a little bit and talk about gas prices. and Im chomping at the bit to do that because youve heard me talk about this before. Im one of those minivan moms. I drive my kids around in my minivan to soccer games and to school. And last summer when we were frustrated with the rise in gas prices. I remember exploding on the floor here talking about how it cost over $55 to fill up my gas tank. And then. of course. conveniently. right before the election. the prices came down again. Im sure it had nothing to do with the fact that an election was imminent. and Im sure the oil industry didnt do anything deliberate to ensure that that would happen. But amazingly it is now May and those gas prices have not just crept but leapt back up. and I want to just share with you the timeline that has existed since this administration took over in the executive branch. We are now paying more than double for gas than when President Bush first took office. This chart will illustrate that the average price per gallon on January 22. 2001. at the beginning of the Bush administration. was $1.47. and then as of May 21. 2007. just a couple days ago. the average price per gallon today is $3.22. Now. what that means is that amounts to real money. When youre talking about it costing 20 or so dollars to fill up your tank or $25 to fill up your tank. thats a manageable amount of money. But when you get to $50. $50. Mr. MURPHY. is an amount that I think about. I mean. when I am faced with paying a bill thats $50. thats real money to me. To me. that gives me pause. I have to make a decision. normally. about other things unrelated to things that I absolutely have to have like gas. about whether or not I am going to actually spend $50. Do I have the money? What else will I not be able to buy if I spend $50 on this item? Gas is not like that. Gas is something thats not optional. You have to drive your kids to school. You have to make sure you can get your car to the grocery store. If you dont go to the grocery store because you dont have gas. your family doesnt eat. If your kid is sick and you cant fill the gas tank. then you cant take them to the doctor. and they get sicker. How are you going to get them to the emergency room if they get so sick that you need that kind of health care? Those are real problems that Americans face when gas prices reach that point. What we are doing in the Democratic Caucus and as we continue to fight to move this country in a new direction is we are working on an energy package that we will bring to the floor by July 4. an energy independence package that will ensure that we Qan crack down on price gouging. like the legislation that we passed off this floor yesterday. that we can really start to respond to the oil cartel and make sure that they are pursued for the antitrust violations that they engage in. and that we really invest in alternative energy. The Presidents remarks during the State of the Union last year were just words. When he referenced his desire to see America end our addiction to foreign oil. nice words. but no action to speak of. Nothing that I can see in any policy is reflective of the words that we heard in this Chamber during that State of the Union. We. on the other hand. are going to make a difference.