Executive Session
Floor Speech
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Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, as we head into Memorial Day weekend and the summer driving season, gas prices are up nearly 25 percent since President Trump took office. That means American consumers are paying $350 more per year to fill up under President Trump, and here is why:
No. 1, President Trump's incoherent foreign policy has been exacerbating the geopolitical risk premium on oil prices and driving them up, and President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran deal is further roiling oil markets. Because of these actions that increase risks around the world, gas prices could keep going up even more this summer. I call this the ``Trump oil risk tax,'' and its impacts are being felt right now.
The oil risk tax completely wipes out any tax savings from the Republican tax scam for the poorest Americans. The lowest 40 percent of earners are projected to get roughly $200 this year from the GOP tax plan. That is eliminated, obviously, by the $350 more they are paying now to gas up thanks to Donald Trump's policies.
Donald Trump loves having his name on things--towers, steak, universities. Now his name is associated with higher gas prices for every American family.
Reason No. 2, while consumers are getting tipped upside down at the gasoline pumps, oil companies are benefiting from a $25 billion tax cut this year alone from the GOP tax scam. That is on top of the $7 billion to $8 billion a year they get in permanent tax breaks and also free drilling loopholes. All of that is on top of the $25 billion of tax breaks this year alone. Is Big Oil using those GOP tax giveaways to help drivers across America? Nope. They are using it to buy back tens of billions of dollars' worth of their own stock. Big oil companies are using this tax windfall to pump up their own profits rather than to help consumers at the pump.
Reason No. 3, the United States is exporting historic amounts of American oil, even while we remain dependent on OPEC and the Middle East. Exporting U.S. oil is only a further giveaway to Big Oil. We are now exporting more than 2.5 million barrels a day of U.S. crude overseas, even while we are still forced to import that exact same amount--2.5 million barrels a day--from OPEC and the Middle East, and we are sending our oil overseas to benefit foreign nations like China, which is getting one-quarter of U.S. oil exports.
Why would we send our oil overseas instead of keeping it here to help our consumers and our security? Well, because Big Oil stands to see $500 billion in new revenue over the next 20 years as a result of U.S. oil exports because they can charge more for U.S. oil overseas. They make more money if they sell it to foreigners than if they sell it to U.S. citizens--U.S. consumers. Exporting American crude means our consumers are more vulnerable to supply shops and more closely tied to rising international prices.
Reason No. 4, OPEC and Russia are colluding to manipulate oil markets. In response to the millions of barrels a day of U.S. oil we are exporting, OPEC, Russia, and other nations are working together to simply cut their production by an equal amount. You don't need to be Robert Mueller to know collusion is going on between Russia and OPEC to boost oil prices and hurt American consumers at the pump as they are getting ready for the Memorial Day weekend.
That is why I introduced the OPEC Accountability Act. This legislation would require President Trump to negotiate with OPEC, with Russia, and other nations to put an end to this cartel that is manipulating markets and harming American consumers. This legislation would further direct our Trade Representative to take action against any country in the cartel that refuses to stop conspiring to raise prices.
President Trump is doing nothing to hold OPEC and Russia accountable. It is time for him to immediately begin negotiations with this cartel to put an end to their manipulation of the oil markets of the world but also of the United States of America.
Reason No. 5, the Trump administration is attacking fuel economy standards that help consumers and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.
The historic fuel economy emissions standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025 that is currently on the books is projected to save consumers more than $1 trillion at the pump. They will reduce our consumption of oil by 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2030. That is how much oil we import from OPEC every single day. Why would the Trump administration seek to eliminate all of the increases in fuel economy standards for the vehicles we drive if they know that it will back out all of that imported oil from the Middle East? You don't have to be a detective to figure this out. They would do it at the behest of the big oil companies, the big auto companies, and the Trump administration so that they can put these fuel economy standards in their crosshairs.
The Trump administration is in the process of making a U-turn and putting us in reverse on these critical fuel economy emissions standards. That will mean that consumers will pay even more at the pump, and it will mean that we will be even more reliant on oil from OPEC and other foreign nations and unstable regions around the world.
President Trump likes to tout American energy dominance, but thanks to his policies, it is high gasoline prices that are dominating American consumers' pocketbooks. President Trump says his agenda is ``America First,'' but the policies he and the Republicans are pursuing are putting Big Oil, OPEC, Russia, and China first and American consumers last. It is time for this to end. It is time for us, in our country, to have a debate about this oil agenda.
The President always says that he wants to have an agenda that is ``all of the above''--meaning every energy source--but when you examine it very closely, it just comes down to oil above all. We are seeing that, and the consumers are paying the price at the pump. We need to ensure that everyone in our country understands who is responsible, whose name is on this price increase, and that name is Donald J. Trump. They are his oil policies. It is his foreign policy that is creating this problem for every consumer as we head into the Memorial Day weekend and as we continue throughout the summer and into the rest of this year and next year.
It is a very important issue for every American. They are going to feel it in their pocketbooks because the tax break that the President is touting is going to be completely wiped out by the high energy prices that will go right to the Koch brothers, right to Big Oil, and right to OPEC.
If the President wants to do something about this, he should call up his pals, the Saudi Arabians. He should call up his pals in the United Arab Emirates. He should call up his pals in the big oil companies and bring them in and tell them that he wants this to end, that he wants there to be lower oil prices, that he does not want them to be taking advantage of this tight American marketplace as we export 2.5 million barrels a day.
It is time for us to begin to understand what is happening to our economy. Ultimately, it is not just going to be drivers at the pump. It is going to be businesses. It is going to be large and small who are going to be impacted by this, and it is ultimately going to have a supreme, negative impact on our economy--not for the oil companies but for anyone else who purchases this oil, which is everyone.
Thank you for the time.
I yield back.
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