[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3492-S3493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ENERGY PRICES

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I would like to make a few comments on what 
is on the forefront of most people's minds today, especially if they 
have been in their automobiles or their trucks or driving their 
tractors, and that is the rising oil prices. As the weather heats up 
and families plan their summer vacations, many are getting increasingly 
frustrated by the rising price of gas. Every day it seems gas prices 
are ticking up, and some areas of the country gas prices have already 
topped a whopping $3 per gallon. Experts tell us that these already 
high prices only threaten to get worse as we head into the summer 
driving months.
  While we understand global supply and demand pressures around the 
world, especially China and India, are the main culprits, it really 
doesn't

[[Page S3493]]

seem fair to the average American consumer that they are having to pay 
so much at the pump each time they fill up their vehicle. It simply 
can't go on indefinitely. We can't continue to rely on foreign oil that 
comes from governments that are unstable or are directly hostile to 
America's interests. Just this week, Iran's hard-line President 
threatened that ``the global oil price has not reached its real value 
yet.''
  We need to find short- and long-term solutions to America's dangerous 
dependence on these foreign sources of oil. We need to find ways to 
strengthen and diversify our own domestic supply.
  On Monday, Speaker Hastert and I sent the President a letter. In that 
letter we urged an effort to direct the Federal Trade Commission, as 
well as the Department of Justice, to examine, investigate possible 
price gouging and other anticompetitive practices that may be unfairly 
driving up gas prices. Price gouging, price fixing, and other forms of 
collusion are wrong. They are immoral. They should be prosecuted to the 
full extent of Federal and State law. I am pleased that the President 
announced yesterday that the investigations we asked for are underway. 
I also urge consumers to report any suspicious activity directly to the 
Department of Energy's Web site so that we can track down any 
wrongdoers and bring them to justice.
  Meanwhile, Senator Stevens and others have developed an anti-price-
gouging bill in response to my request last fall following the hearing 
with the CEOs of the major oil companies. I anticipate that the Senate 
will take up the Stevens proposal. In addition, the President has 
wisely called for suspending additions to the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve this summer. We have enough oil in the reserve to get through 
any major short-term supply disruptions. While it is not a lot, this 
brief halt will leave a little more oil on the market and, as the 
President said, every little bit helps.
  These are important first steps in bringing relief to millions of 
Americans being pummeled with high prices at the pump. But there is 
much more to be done. We need to think long term and strategically on 
how to move the supply and demand equation in our favor by breaking 
America's addiction to oil and diversifying our energy supply. Instead 
of looking for scapegoats, as the other side is doing now, we need to 
look for solutions and provide long-term security for the American 
people.
  Last summer, after a decade of partisan obstruction, Congress passed 
a comprehensive energy bill. We doubled the amount of ethanol and 
biodiesel in our gasoline. By 2012, this should reduce oil consumption 
by 80,000 barrels a day. We passed a hybrid car tax credit of up to 
$3,400 per vehicle. There is more that we can do to encourage consumers 
to purchase fuel-efficient hybrid cars, and we will pursue those 
options vigorously. The Energy bill also allocated significant funding 
for research and development of hydrogen fuel cells. If just 20 percent 
or one out of five cars used fuel cell technology, we would cut oil 
imports by 1.5 million barrels a day.
  We need to build on these initiatives and encourage American 
consumers, the producers, and entrepreneurs to think beyond oil. I 
believe, as does the President, that America's future lies with 
technology that will allow Americans to use environmentally safe and 
diverse energy sources. Instead of driving into a gas station, we will 
pull up to a fueling station where we might plug in or fill up with 
ethanol, electricity, or hydrogen or some combination that technology 
has made possible.
  Political instability in Venezuela won't send our energy prices 
soaring. Foreign dictators won't be able to use oil to hold the world's 
policies hostage. America will be safer and more secure with American 
energy coming from American sources.

  The Energy bill we passed last year is a good start. We can 
accomplish a whole lot more if we can get bipartisan cooperation. 
Unfortunately, when it comes to energy security, bipartisanship has 
been hard to come by, and that makes solving the energy problem even 
more difficult.
  Developing new energy sources takes time and research. For example, 
had President Clinton not vetoed ANWR a decade ago, the reserve would 
be producing a million barrels of oil a day right now. That is about 
three-fourths of what we currently import from Saudi Arabia.
  I hope to be able to work with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to find fair and effective ways to strengthen and diversify 
America's energy supply.
  Challenge, action, solutions--that is what the American people sent 
us here to do. By staying focused on our long- term goals, we can keep 
America moving forward.

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