Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?

Ms. HOCHUL. I am opposed to the bill in its current form.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit:

Ms. Hochul moves to recommit the bill H.R. 2112 to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with the following amendment:

Page 55, after line 23, insert the following:

In addition, for carrying out section 4a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6a), including establishing limits to diminish, eliminate, or prevent excessive speculation, and as authorized by section 12(d) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 16(d)), $11,800,000.

Page 6, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert "(reduced by $4,000,000)''.

Page 27, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert "(reduced by $3,800,000)''.

Page 30, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert "(reduced by $4,000,000)''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from New York is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her motion.

Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I am here today as someone who very recently stood before the voters, and I can tell you that the constituents I represent are fed up with our inability to control the soaring price of gas in this country. In the diners, in the small businesses, and certainly at the gas stations, you can feel the incredible anger and helplessness of our consumers. And that is why I feel compelled to stand here today to offer this final amendment to restore critical funding to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC is like the sheriffs in town who protect us from the Wild West of oil speculators. Now if Republicans had their way, they would send these sheriffs packing, let the speculators drive up our gas prices and run wild, just shooting around town. But those who support my final amendment to the bill see it differently. We like law and order. We like it when people play by the rules. And we like having sheriffs around to make sure someone is keeping an eye on these speculators on behalf of our consumers.

The Agriculture appropriations bill under debate right now would hurt every single person we represent. And among the many problems with this bill is the fact that it cedes regulation of the oil market back to Big Oil, and it pits consumers against speculators.

Today oil is trading at about $100 a barrel. In my district, my constituents are paying over $4 a gallon just to fill up, and that's for regular. The price of diesel is really, really hurting my farmers, who pay a quarter more for every gallon.

You know, the worst part is that none of this is new for western New York. A few years ago, my region had the highest gas prices in America--not high prices, the highest. Even today, the village of Arcade, a tiny village in a farming community in Wyoming County, is listed as having among the highest gas prices in the Nation. How can that possibly be explained? What is so disturbing is that our area was just starting to climb out of recession when the price of gas skyrocketed, sending our recovery efforts backwards.

For all the Members who are concerned about the deficit, I hope you will support this amendment. The high cost of oil is not only bankrupting American families and businesses but is also bankrupting our country.

I know that the folks back home in my district are fed up with the deficit; they're fed up with the poor economy; and they are fed up with high gas prices. And they want to know what we're going to do to solve these problems. I'll tell you, the answer does not lie in firing the regulators who watch and control the speculators who now make up over 70 percent of the market. And that's exactly what this bill does.

Recently, several traders and firms were charged by the CFTC with price manipulation, trying to hoard crude oil and score a quick $50 million. And I ask, how does gutting this agency, which protects our consumers from speculators, end up reducing the price of gas? The answer is, it doesn't.

Even the CEO of Exxon-Mobil blames speculators for the high prices, saying that just last month, oil should be trading around $60 to $70 a barrel if it was governed by supply and demand. Can you imagine, $60 a barrel? Also recently, the world's largest commodity trader, Goldman Sachs, told their clients that the speculators had artificially driven up the price of oil by as much as $27 a barrel.

The bottom line is, how do we justify slashing the budget for the only agency that can crack down on excessive speculation? I will tell you, it's not by firing all the sheriffs just when Jesse James is coming to town. I don't know about anyone else, but when I return home this weekend, I sure would not want to have to explain my support for a bill that would, in effect, make it easier for Big Oil companies and speculators to take advantage of our consumers, our drivers.

The choice is simple. Does this Congress stand with the consumers, our families, our small businesses, and our farmers? Or does it stand with the speculators? I know where my constituents expect me to stand.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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