Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FILL SUSPENSION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 13, 2008)
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Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
First, I want to thank Chairman Dingell for his leadership on energy issues and for assisting in bringing this legislation to the floor for consideration by the full House.
I want to address a couple of observations by my friend from Texas. Number one, the revenues that would be generated from drilling on Federal lands
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would go into the Treasury. And there are many uses and debates that can be had about whether that money ultimately should go into alternative energy, whether it should go into LIHEAP, and those will all be had in due course as part of other legislation.
The question that we have before us today is whether or not taking a small step that in the past has been taken by this President Bush, by his father, by President Clinton, that when it has been taken has proven to actually have a direct and immediate impact on lowering the price of gas at the pump from 5 cents to 25 cents a gallon.
All of us know, we're going home every weekend and we're hearing from our constituents. It doesn't matter what district we're in, it doesn't matter what part of the country we're from, folks are really feeling burdened by these ever-escalating home energy heating bills and the cost of filling up their pick-up truck and their car. And basically the question for us is whether or not, even as we have to proceed with long-term debates about our future energy policy, this Congress is going to be willing to take a short-term step that has the potential to bring down energy prices.
You know, we could go out and clap, but I actually think this would be more effective. History tells us that, in fact, when we've used this Strategic Petroleum Reserve as an asset belonging to the American people and suspended purchases--and incidentally, this Strategic Petroleum Reserve is nearly full, we're talking about topping it off, it's very expensive to do so now with $126 per barrel oil--that when we've done it in the past, it has actually reduced that pump price. And just two examples of what it would mean in my small State of Vermont. I talked to a trucker from Barre, Vermont; they've got a company and drive a lot. It would put $300,000 on his bottom line if the price of gas went down 25 cents. A school district in a rural area, it would be $30,000 off their bottom line if we could get the price down 25 cents.
No one here is suggesting that this is an answer to our energy situation. What we are suggesting--and, really, recommendations on a bipartisan basis--is that the tool that's within our reach we should use and do all we can on a short-term basis even as we debate long-term energy policies.
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