[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 11, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2855-S2856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HIGH GASOLINE PRICES

  Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I rise to speak about an issue that is 
directly impacting each and every family, not just in West Virginia but 
throughout this whole country. It is the high gas prices. The truth is, 
in States all across this Nation, and particularly in West Virginia, 
countless families have to drive to survive. For these families, a jump 
in the gas price is not just an inconvenience or an annoyance, it is a 
threat that hits extremely hard in the pocketbook and could change 
their way of life.
  But as every American knows, the cycle of high gas prices is not a 
new phenomenon with any of us. I still vividly remember waiting in line 
for gas in the early 1970s, when gas was rationed based on our license 
number--when we could buy gas. It is something I thought could never 
happen in America, and I am sure those whom it happened to felt the 
same.
  This all came about because of our dependency on foreign oil. If we 
think back to the early 1970s, we were 28 percent dependent on foreign 
oil, which we thought was a high number at that time. But today we are 
more than 50 percent dependent on foreign oil, which has caused a 
massive transfer of American wealth to countries that do not like us 
that much and want to do us harm. We have seen this bad movie time and 
again. Yet somehow it seems Washington keeps thinking there is going to 
be a different outcome or a different ending. The right ending will 
only come when our Nation makes it a high priority to achieve energy 
independence within this generation.
  While crafting such a bold plan will be difficult, I recognize--and 
the special interests that oppose using our own resources such as coal, 
natural gas, and oil in an environmentally responsible way will resist 
loudly--we can no longer allow this Nation and our hard-working 
families to be held hostage by high gas prices. We can no longer allow 
partisanship and politics to undermine the common ground that can be 
achieved if we work together with one goal in mind--true energy 
independence within this generation.
  Let me make it perfectly clear, high gas prices are not the only high 
price we are paying as a nation. For decades, our great men and women 
who serve us so well have been called to action in defense of our vital 
interests in the Middle East and all around the world. Thousands have 
been killed and injured. Their families have suffered the incredible 
pain of loss. Our nations have spent trillions in the course of these 
missions. Yet too many of these oil-rich countries have and will 
continue to use against us our dependence on their oil.
  For all these reasons and for the sake of our national security, it 
is time for our Nation to become truly energy independent within this 
generation. I believe we can do it, and I know we can because just this 
week in beautiful Mingo County, WV, my State took a major step to 
confront our gas prices head on. On Monday, West Virginia said enough 
is enough. On a sunny morning in the town of Gilbert, WV, I helped 
break ground on a promising new project that could help bring down the 
crushing gas prices our families are confronting. There, entrepreneurs 
and State and local governments are participating to create hundreds of 
jobs at a coal-to-gasoline plant that is at the forefront of any 
technology in the world.
  The anticipated production of this plant is very impressive. It is 
projected to convert 7,500 tons of West Virginia coal into 756,000 
gallons of premium gasoline each and every day, which can be used to 
run our cars and our trucks and even some of our military equipment.
  Over a 4-year construction period, it is estimated that 3,000 skilled 
trade workers in America will be employed. When the plant is finished, 
it is expected to create 300 direct jobs and hundreds of more ancillary 
jobs in the community.
  In West Virginia and Mingo County, the government is acting as a 
partner--and as a good partner, not an obstacle--and that is the role 
our Federal Government should take toward energy independence. This is 
exactly the kind of project the Federal Government should work on with 
us to make sure it succeeds. They should be our ally, not an obstacle 
or an adversary. If my little State has the courage to step out and 
invest in our independence, then the Federal Government should also 
have the courage to do the same. West Virginians are sending the right 
message for this country. We will not let ourselves be held hostage to 
foreign countries that want to see the United

[[Page S2856]]

States be financially crippled simply because those countries have oil.
  My State of West Virginia also proves we can and we must use all our 
domestic resources to break our cycle of dependence on foreign oil 
within this generation. It doesn't matter whether your State has oil, 
coal, natural gas, geothermal, nuclear, biomass, wind, solar or hydro 
because we have to harness all the tremendous resources right here in 
America or we are going to continue to rely on countries that have 
contributed directly or indirectly to changing America for the worse.
  At the end of the day, it is going to take everything we can do and 
every resource we have to become truly independent. That is one of the 
many reasons why I am cosponsoring the American Alternative Fuels Act 
with my colleague, John Barrasso, from Wyoming. Among other things, the 
bill would break down barriers to alternative energy fuels, including 
those from coal, biomass, algae, and waste.
  There are other smart, targeted actions we can take in the short term 
to help reduce the price of gas for our families. I have signed on to 
an important piece of bipartisan legislation sponsored by my friend, 
Senator Herb Kohl, from Wisconsin. It is the No Oil Producing & 
Exporting Cartels Act, better know as NOPEC. This bill would finally 
allow the Department of Justice to go after foreign countries, such as 
the members of OPEC, because of their price-fixing behavior.
  The other major issue we must address now is speculators and oil 
company subsidies. This is not a supply issue. The real problem is pure 
greed--some who are taking advantage of the instability in our world to 
line their pockets on the backs of American families--or a tax policy 
that does not make any sense at all, that continues to subsidize oil 
companies when the price of a barrel of oil is at the highest it has 
ever been and the profits are at a record high. This doesn't make any 
sense to American families.
  Wouldn't it make more sense that these subsidies they now have should 
only be available when the cost of production exceeds the price of a 
barrel of oil? That would be a commonsense solution. It would ensure 
stability and steady production, and it does not force taxpayers to 
fill the bank accounts of major oil companies when they are already 
making record profits.
  Because we must do so much more to protect American families, I have 
also encouraged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take 
aggressive steps in the short term to regulate and pursue the oil 
speculators who are driving the price of a gallon of gas through the 
ceiling.
  While the most important thing our country can do is establish a 
national energy plan for independence, all of those actions are steps 
we can take to make sure we relieve the financial pressures on our 
families and help secure our country.
  For all of the wonderful families of West Virginia, for the great 
people of the United States of America, and all of our children and 
grandchildren, this country must finally answer the call. It is time. 
It is truly time. It is time to free this Nation, put politics aside, 
and work together to make energy independence a national priority.
  I truly believe that if we work together as Americans and focus on a 
commonsense approach, we can develop a strong bipartisan energy plan 
that will not only break the power of foreign oil countries and 
speculators, but use the resources that we have right here in America. 
We can chart a new and promising energy future for this great Nation 
and we must start today.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. I want to thank the Senator from West Virginia for his 
comments on our dependence on foreign oil. We import about $1 billion 
worth of oil a day. That does not make our Nation any stronger. In 
fact, it makes us more dependent. For our economy to grow, we need to 
have good homegrown energy sources. We may never be totally 
independent, but if we do not move toward independence, then I am 
afraid we are going to continue to be victimized, as we have been 
recently, by not only oil companies but the greed the Senator mentioned 
that drives up gasoline prices every Spring. Just as sure as the 
baseball season is going to open, gasoline prices are going to go sky 
high. Then they are going to retreat, but they never retreat to where 
they started. They always end up higher as we go into the summer 
vacation season. The Senator from West Virginia has some thoughtful 
ideas here on how to address this. I share his support of Herb Kohl's 
legislation that deals with NOPEC, the OPEC cartel, and the fact that 
we have been victimized by them for way too long.
  Like the Senator's State, we have a lot of coal in Illinois. We want 
to find an environmentally responsible way to use it, to take all of 
the energy out of the ground and put it to work for America so 
Americans can go to work. I thank the Senator for his leadership on 
this important topic.

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