[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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