Sanders Holds Press Conference to Address Impending Gas Crisis

Sanders Holds Press Conference to Address Impending Gas Crisis
8/31/2005

Montpelier, VT-Congressman Bernie Sanders today held a press conference with the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association to address the impending gas crisis in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Due to the hurricane, the nation's oil supply has been lessened by between 1.4-2 million barrels of oil per day. Unless Congress acts decisively to address this crisis, prices are expected to rise to well over $3 per gallon in Vermont. Vermont Fuel Dealers Association President Sean Cota and Vice President Shane Sweet joined Sanders at the meeting.

Sanders said, "The oil crisis that we are experiencing now, and will be experiencing in the coming months, constitutes a national emergency which must be addressed in a very forceful manner by the President and the U.S. Congress. This crisis is affecting millions of American workers, especially in rural states like Vermont, who absolutely cannot afford to pay $3 or $3.50 per gallon in order to get to work and return home. This is a crisis which impacts our entire economy - trucking, aviation, agriculture, manufacturing, public transit -- and almost every other sector of American life."

At the press conference, Sanders outlined a series of actions that must be taken in order to reign in skyrocketing prices. Sanders has, for many months, urged the Bush Administration to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Today the Bush Administration has announced that they will release some amount of oil from the reserve in response to Hurricane Katrina.

Sanders said, "I'm pleased that the Bush Administration will begin to release oil from the reserve. We must make sure, however, that the President releases enough oil to make a real difference in lowering prices rather than simply responding to the requests of oil companies.

In addition to supporting the release of oil from SPRo, Sanders also proposes a number of immediate and long-term solutions to address the nation's oil crisis. This includes confronting OPEC about lowering crude oil prices, stopping major oil companies from making huge windfall profits in the midst of this national emergency, and increasing the average fuel economy standards for cars to 45 miles per gallon and SUVs to 34 miles per gallon over the next decade. Sanders is also working to substantially increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to make sure all Vermonters are able to afford their home heating bills this winter.

Sanders said, "The President and the Congress must make very clear to OPEC --especially countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait who we have defended with American troops and with American lives, that we need their support right now in terms of adequate oil production and reasonable prices. We must also make it very clear to big oil companies, Exxon Mobil and the others, that the huge windfall profits that they are now enjoying are just not acceptable. Huge oil profits and price gouging in the midst of a national energy emergency cannot continue."

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/releases/20050831172355.asp