(Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, Americans are driving out of their way to fill up on the cheapest gas and are skipping summer vacations and important appointments because gas prices today are just too high.
And while Americans are paying record-high prices, Big Oil is reaping record-high profits. But instead of investing those profits for exploration on the 311 million acres of land open to new energy production, Big Oil spends their money on stock buybacks and dividends.
In 1993, oil companies spent only 1 percent of their profits on stocks. Last year, that number rose to 55 percent. And yet Big Oil continues to spend only in the single digits on finding new oil. It's no wonder that 68 million acres of land already leased to Big Oil sits undeveloped because Big Oil is spending all of its profits buying back its stock rather than searching for new oil. And yet House Republicans continue to allow Big Oil to get away with this.
Last week, for the second time, House Republicans could have forced Big Oil to use it or lose it, but once again, they sided with Big Oil. How high do prices have to get before House Republicans will join us in providing relief for the consumer?