Republican Energy Policy is Result of Corporate Influence, Says Miller
Thursday, April 28, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President George W. Bush is expected to address the issue of high gas prices during a prime-time press conference tonight. In anticipation of the President's comments, Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) issued the following statement today:
"For five years, President Bush has failed to craft a comprehensive energy policy that would reduce our nation's dependence on oil. He turned energy policy over to Vice President Cheney, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and a cabal of industry insiders, and we are continuing to see the results: high gas prices, no relief for consumers or the environment, and hefty profits for oil companies.
"Today, Exxon Mobil reported $7.86 billion in profit in just three months, based largely on rising oil prices. Exxon Mobil is one of the Republican Party's biggest and most reliable corporate sponsors. Since the 1995-1996 election cycle, Exxon Mobil has written 90 percent of its checks to members of the GOP, for a total of more than $4.6 million dollars to Republicans in ten years.
"It's no surprise, then, that Republican energy legislation continues to reward the energy industry even as Exxon Mobil posts one of the largest quarterly profits in U.S. history.
"The President and this Republican Congress could take real steps to reward conservation, reduce oil consumption, and lower gas prices. But why would they bite the hand that feeds them? The Republican energy policy benefits oil companies, not the American people."
Miller is Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee and a member of the House Resources Committee.
Exxon Mobil made its first quarter earnings announcement this morning. Its $7.86 billion in profit was the company's largest first-quarter profit ever; it was the fifth largest quarterly profit for any company in U.S. history. The announcement came on news that first-quarter growth in the U.S. economy, at 3.1 percent, was the slowest it has been in two years.
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/press/rel42805.html