Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008

STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FILL SUSPENSION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2008 -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 16, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2008

* Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protect Act of 2008.

* With gas prices at record highs and fast-approaching $4 per gallon, our constituents are suffering. There are many factors contributing to the rise in prices--ranging from increased global demand, to wild speculation in the futures market, to the weakening dollar. Unfortunately Congress does not have the power to control all these factors. We do, however, have a responsibility to take what steps we can to lessen the burden that the price of gas has on our constituents. That is why I support suspending shipments of oil to the SPR.

* The SPR is almost entirely full, and certainly full enough to be used in an emergency. By stopping shipments of oil to the reserve, we can add 70,000 barrels of oil per day to the global market. There is evidence to show that this could lower at-the-pump prices by about a quarter per gallon. This action is a much needed first step for American families, businesses and the economy.

* The supply of oil is finite, and as countries like China and India industrialize, and incomes in such countries enable people to afford cars, the demand on this limited commodity will drive prices upward in the long run. If our economy is to make a full recovery, we must reduce our dependence on ever more expensive and environmentally detrimental fossil fuels. That is why the Democratic 110th Congress raised CAFE standards for the first time in a generation and the House has time and again voted to remove subsidies for oil companies making the highest corporate profits in history and reinvest the money in the energy sources of tomorrow. What America really needs is a wholesale shift in energy policy.

* I would like to thank the House leadership for bringing this important legislation to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

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