Consumer First Energy Act of 2008--Motion to Proceed--Continued

Floor Speech

CONSUMER-FIRST ENERGY ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued -- (Senate - June 10, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, this morning we had two more opportunities to address rising gas prices and do something immediately as the price of gas per gallon goes over $4 in Steubenville and almost $4 in Dayton and even higher in some places in my State and in the Presiding Officer's State of New Jersey. We had two more opportunities to address rising gas prices immediately and longer term.

We need to start immediately to invest in renewable energy rather than the other choice of continuing to line the pockets of big oil. We could have helped to begin to create tens of thousands of good-paying, green-collar jobs right here at home. Once again, the Bush administration opposed our efforts and Republican Senators joined the Bush administration and refused to put middle-class families first.

The Consumer-First Energy Act is a good first step in providing immediate relief to drivers in Ohio and across the land who are faced with soaring gasoline and diesel prices.

The other night I had a conference call with 20 truckers. Think about what this has done to them. Many of them have had to sell their trucks. They are simply not able to afford the $4.50 and up per gallon price of diesel. Oil prices are setting record highs, it seems, every week, and yesterday closed at over $136 a barrel.

This legislation will help in the short term and allow us to get through and offer some assistance to motorists to get through the summer driving season. The policies that created this gas price crisis didn't happen overnight. Before we attack the long-term problems, Ohioans need help now to get through the summer to keep trucks running, to keep the economy moving, to keep food prices in check as the cost of energy ripples through the whole economy and causes prices to go up generally.

Cities throughout Ohio are struggling to pay gas bills for the police cars, for EMS, for fire department vehicles, school buses, garbage trucks, and mass transit services.

We need to roll back the massive tax breaks for oil companies which would generate more than $17 billion to be used for green energy, for renewable energy, and for energy efficiency. We will impose a 25-percent windfall profits tax on companies that fail to invest in increased capacity and renewable energy sources. We will ensure purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve do not resume, especially when we are paying $120, $130, $140, $150 a barrel to put oil in the reserve. We will provide protection for consumers from price gouging. We call on the Justice Department again to be active and take on the oil companies as they seem to price gouge. We will work to stop market speculation, prevent traders of U.S. crude oil from routing transmissions through offshore markets to evade speculative limits.

Ohioans play by the rules. Americans play by the rules. So should the oil industry. So should the speculator. So should Wall Street.

There is so much we need to do. I call on my friends on that side of the aisle to join with majority Democrats: no more filibusters and let's get to work. Let's do the right thing short term to help American motorists deal with these outrageously high prices, long term to, in fact, after 30 years become energy independent and create the kinds of green jobs a good energy policy can create.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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