[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          ADMINISTRATION BLAMING GAS COMPANIES FOR FUEL CRISIS

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, rising gas prices are a 
serious concern to Americans everywhere.
  The hike in fuel prices has hurt the truckers who deliver our food 
and clothing. It has hurt our farmers who need gas to run their farm 
equipment. It has hurt the average American who just wants to get to 
and from work.
  The Clinton-Gore administration has often claimed it feels the pain 
of the American people. But instead of working with OPEC to increase 
oil production or moving to temporarily suspend expensive regulations, 
the administration is choosing to play the blame game.
  The administration's new claim is that gas companies are engaging in 
price gouging. Gas companies are not to blame for our fuel prices, the 
Clinton-Gore administration is. While they are focusing their efforts 
on shifting the blame, the American people are the ones paying the 
price.
  This is not price gouging, it is ``price-Gore-ging.''

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