DEMOCRATS CONTINUE FIGHT TO LOWER GAS PRICES -- (House of Representatives - May 21, 2008)
(Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, with gas prices reaching a new record high every day, Congress took strong action last week to bring down the price at the pump by passing legislation to suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of this year.
After initially opposing the proposal, President Bush signed the bill into law yesterday. He had the power all along to stop filling the SPR, but it took an act of Congress to push him to take this commonsense step, a step that could lower gas prices by up to 24 cents a gallon.
While the Bush administration has allowed crude oil to rise from $25 a gallon when he first took office to $130 a gallon today, the Democratic Congress is fighting to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down record gas prices, and launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America.
Today this House will consider legislation that will retain and create hundreds of thousands of green energy jobs and encourage the use of production of renewable energy. While President Bush continues to call for more of the same policies that have failed for the past 7 years, this Democratic Congress is working for an energy independence plan for America.