Cornyn Calls On Democrat Colleagues To Address Rising Gas Prices
Press Release
Cornyn Calls On Democrat Colleagues To Address Rising Gas Prices
With the summer travel months approaching and gas prices breaking $3 a gallon, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today called on the Democrat majority in the Congress to work with Republicans on a real, bipartisan energy plan that would provide meaningful relief to American consumers.
Senator John Cornyn Comments on Gas Prices - May 8, 2007
Senator John Cornyn Comments on Gas Prices - May 8, 2007
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In a speech on the Senate floor this morning, U.S. Sen. Cornyn in particular cited the critical need for increased domestic refining capacity, stating, "There are a lot of laws the Congress can pass -- we can even repeal laws -- but we can't repeal the law of supply and demand. And the only way we'll see these gas prices come down is to form new supply
we've gone from a high of 324 refineries in this country down to 132
.The only way we're going to be able to provide relief in the near term is to increase supply by reducing our dependence on imported energy, producing more of it domestically and removing some of the regulatory impediments which have made it impossible to create a new refinery in this country in the last 30 years. We should also continue to explore alternative forms of energy and other ways to meet our energy needs such as nuclear, clean coal burning technology and wind energy."
U.S. Sen. Cornyn also noted that the new Democrat majority in the Congress has a responsibility to act now on this important issue, stating, "I remember well that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle last year, when we were in the majority, said they wanted to know what the Republican plan -- what the majority plan was to relieve the pain at the pump. Well, the Democrats are in charge now and we'd like to know what their plan is."
"We believe that this is something that we ought to work on together in a bipartisan way to try to relieve the pain at the pump being experienced by working men and women and families all across this country. But as long as the Democrats control the agenda -- and the Majority Leader controls the floor time on the United States Senate floor -- we need to know when he plans to bring up some meaningful relief for the American consumers to try to bring these prices down," U.S. Sen. Cornyn concluded.
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