Oil Hits Record Highs as Gas Prices Skyrocket
Oil Hits Record Highs as Gas Prices Skyrocket
Despite high prices, Republican Congress still refuses to act
- Oil prices reached a record high today of more than $70 a barrel, helping push gas prices in Denver to $2.69 per gallon, a .33 cent jump over last month. The nationwide average is now more than $2.78 per gallon, a jump of more than 31 cents over last month.
"These sky high gas prices are putting a real squeeze on people's pocket books, but you couldn't tell that by looking at what the Republicans are doing," said Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO). "The Republican's passed an energy bill last year and gas prices have been going up ever since. They need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a real energy plan."
Last August, President Bush signed the 5 year-in-the-making "Energy Policy Act of 2005," containing more than $14.5 billion in tax breaks for the energy industry, but no provisions to address rising gas prices. Since passage of this bill, gas prices have risen steadily, from roughly $2.23 per gallon to $2.78 today.
"We Democrats have a real energy plan, not just more hand outs to big oil," said Rep. DeGette. "Our plan focuses on increasing the development of alternative fuels, promoting hybrid cars and enhancing energy efficiency. This will not only help consumers at the pump, but it will start to end our reliance on Middle East oil."
Rep. DeGette has joined with Rep. Markey in sponsoring H.R. 4749, the "Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act of 2006." This legislation would prohibit royalty relief on any future oil and gas leases when the price of oil and gas is high as well as renegotiate current leases that are giving royalty relief, and prohibit the purchasing of new leases by those companies that refuse to renegotiate.
"Last year, ExxonMobil made more than $1000 every minute - yet the Republican leadership rammed through billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies. To most Americans, it is only common sense to end these subsidies at a time these companies are posting historic profits. Sadly, common sense is in short supply within the Republican leadership," said Rep. Diana DeGette.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/co01_degette/gasprices.html