[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 6, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              GAS PRICES ARE KILLING THE AMERICAN CONSUMER

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Gas prices are killing the American consumer. They're 
doing real damage to small businesses.
  In my State, Cabot Creamery, which has fixed price contracts to 
deliver cheese, very important to farmers, very important to that 
business, price of gas going up a dollar, it's like another $135,000 
off their bottom line.
  There are long-term issues we've got to address, but you know what? 
There's stuff we can do in the short term. The futures market has been 
flipped upside down. It should be serving end users like airlines, fuel 
dealers. Instead, it's been taken over by speculators.
  Goldman Sachs study says about $23 on the price of a barrel of oil is 
attributable to speculation. That's about 56 cents when you go to fill 
up your pickup truck, about an extra 15 bucks just for the speculation 
premium.
  Past Presidents have used the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to spook 
the speculators, to send a shot across their bow that they're going to 
be on the wrong side, the losing side of these trades. Let's use the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to give some relief to our consumers and to 
our small businesses.

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