[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 81 (Friday, May 16, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FILL SUSPENSION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 
                                OF 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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