[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ENERGY PRICES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to join my colleagues 
in addressing the serious issue of rising energy costs.
  Today in Rhode Island, the average price of one gallon of regular 
unleaded gasoline reached $1.77, almost 5 cents above the national 
average and a record high in my State.
  Thousands of my constituents depend on their automobiles to get to 
their jobs each day and simply cannot afford the drastic increase in 
gas prices that they are being forced to pay.
  Additionally, this problem has a significant impact on Rhode Island's 
economy which relies heavily on summer tourism.
  Increased gasoline costs threaten to discourage people from summer 
travel, which would have a disastrous effect on our communities.
  Mr. Speaker, we need a solution to this problem now. I have contacted 
the administration and insisted that any energy strategy that they 
develop must help American consumers by lowering gas prices.

                              {time}  1915

  Both the President and the Vice President have extensive experience 
and contact in the oil industry. I am certain that, if properly 
motivated, they could find a way to lower gasoline prices and bring 
relief to Americans that have been hardest hit by this price spike.
  Our national energy strategy must also incorporate technologies to 
improve vehicles' fuel efficiency standards in order to reduce our 
runaway consumption of oil and gasoline.
  For example, by requiring SUVs to simply meet fuel efficiency 
standards of passenger cars would reduce U.S. oil consumption by 1 
million barrels per day, approximately the daily estimated oil yield 
from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
  Even though the technology currently exists to make our Nation's cars 
and SUVs more fuel efficient, Congress has blocked the establishment of 
higher standards since 1995.
  Mr. Speaker, I intend to work with my colleagues in Congress to 
increase fuel efficiency standards, not only to cut our consumption of 
oil and gasoline, but also to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the 
greatest contributor to global warming.
  I am optimistic that the United States will take advantage of our 
current energy debate to develop a forward-thinking plan for the 
future. We must establish an energy strategy that addresses short-term 
and long-term problems, is environmentally responsible, and truly 
benefits the American consumer as well as the future of this world.

                          ____________________