[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20057-20061]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues, especially the 
senior Senator from Louisiana, Senator Landrieu, and the distinguished 
Senators from Mississippi and Alabama for all of their leadership 
during this Hurricane Katrina crisis. I thank all of my colleagues who 
have offered their heartfelt thoughts and prayers and very concrete 
help over these past 2 very difficult weeks.
  I arrived back yesterday from the battlefields of the other gulf war. 
I stand before you to offer my firsthand report. I don't mean to be 
overly dramatic in my use of the analogy to war. I mean to be accurate. 
I mean to effectively convey the magnitude of the destruction, the 
enormity and complexity of the ongoing human impacts, and, perhaps most 
important, the level of national resolve and commitment that we need to 
win the recovery effort.
  We have all seen very powerful and destructive storms come ashore. We 
have seen them cause enormous damage, create short-term flooding, even 
take lives. And then the next day we

[[Page 20058]]

respond and the residents of the stricken area walk through their 
community and try to begin picking up the pieces.
  This is different. It is not just fiercer or bigger, it is wholly 
different.
  Yes, Katrina was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever. When it 
hit Louisiana's coast, it did so with sustained winds of 140 miles per 
hour. Its low pressure reading of 920 at landfall made it one of the 
three most ferocious storms ever to hit the United States, along with 
Camille in 1969 and the Labor Day Storm of 1935. But it was much more 
than that. Yes, Katrina was also one of the largest hurricanes ever 
geographically. Those ferocious winds extended 100 miles from the eye 
of the storm, which means they pounded the stricken area for hour upon 
hour upon hour, a devastated area roughly the size of Great Britain; 
roughly 2\1/2\ times larger than the area hit by Hurricane Andrew in 
1992.
  But it was even more than that. You see, Katrina was a ferocious, 
huge hurricane that hit a treasured coastline, an entire region, 
including a major American metropolitan area, and that population 
center is one of the poorest in the country, and it is the only one 
that sits largely under sea level, protected by levees until some of 
the levees broke.
  What does that mean? Storm surges of up to 25 feet; large portions of 
southeast Louisiana with long-term flooding of up to 20 feet; tens of 
thousands of people who had not evacuated, most in one-story wooden 
houses, driven to their attics and roofs, many to be trapped there.
  The crisis did not stop or stabilize there. In the ensuing days, it 
meant the breakdown of basic institutions: the failure of all 
communication systems; lawlessness, which began spiraling out of 
control; thousands of evacuees collecting in safe havens such as the 
Louisiana Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center, which 
quickly became some of the most unsafe hellholes imaginable.
  What does it all mean now? It means a major American metropolitan 
area evacuated. This is the first time this has happened since the 
Civil War. There is that war theme again. But the difference is, 
American cities have grown quite a bit since then. This metro area is 
home to 1.3 million people. It means hundreds of thousands of evacuees 
from southeast Louisiana. These are numbers comparable to some of the 
historic dislocations during World War II, but the difference is it is 
right here in America.
  During all of this I was in southeast Louisiana. My wife Wendy and I 
packed up our minivan and our four kids and drove to Memphis the 
Saturday before the storm. After leaving them safely with family, I 
returned to Baton Rouge that Sunday, where I slept in a true safe 
haven, the State Police compound, and began traveling into all of the 
devastated areas beginning that Tuesday morning.
  Much like in war, what I saw covered the whole spectrum of human 
activity. Indeed, it tended to concentrate on the two ends of the 
spectrum: great acts of personal heroism followed by a truly awesome 
military operation beginning on day five on one end of the spectrum; 
looting and worse and bureaucratic incompetence on the other end.
  Let me be very clear and precise about this because some reports of 
my critique of the early relief effort have caused some consternation. 
I was quoted after the first few days as saying that the early 
government relief effort was a failure. I was quoted correctly and this 
was clearly, unequivocally, indisputably true. In that initial relief 
effort, FEMA failed us miserably and Louisiana's hurricane preparation 
and emergency bureaucracy failed us miserably, too.
  Don't take my word for it. Talk to the mother with her young daughter 
whom I left at the Lafayette shelter. They were still in shock, not 
from the storm but from the hell on Earth that they had been placed 
into at the Louisiana Superdome. Or talk to nurse Jody Lopez, who was 
holed up in Lindsey Boggs Memorial Hospital, or Dr. Tom Kiernan, 
trapped at Tulane Hospital, who struggled to keep critical care 
patients alive for days with no sign of help in sight.
  Thank God that while the bureaucrats failed, others succeeded. The 
first group of heroes who held on and overcame amazing challenges in 
those first few days were local leaders and citizens on the ground. 
This was true in every community I visited--New Orleans, St. Bernard, 
Slidell, Bogalusa, Amite, Kenner, to name a few. Sheriff's deputies in 
St. Bernard were living on a small riverboat so they could continue 
their vital work. Eight days after the storm most had not seen their 
homes or talked to their families, but they were committed to keeping 
St. Bernard safe and putting their duty above their families and 
property.
  There were hundreds of private citizens such as David Fakaouri of 
Baton Rouge, who pulled his boat down to New Orleans and spent days 
combing the city for survivors, saving more than 60 people personally. 
These private citizen rescuers slept in their boats and trucks, using 
their own fuel, and witnessed suffering at a level we cannot imagine.
  Local leaders such as State Senator Ben Nevers of Washington Parish 
worked tirelessly to secure police reinforcements, water, food, 
gasoline, even chain saws to cut out of isolated areas.
  There was the lunch crew at Belle Chasse High School in Plaquemines 
Parish who, operating on emergency power only, fed hundreds of relief 
workers every day. When I left them, they were working to feed the Army 
Rangers who had arrived to provide support and security.
  These local leaders and private citizens were also aided by 
counterparts from around Louisiana and around the country. These 
counterparts collected food, water, ice, generators, fuel and other 
necessities, and with no plan and with no budget they got it to 
devastated areas, in many cases over a week ahead of the bureaucrats.
  Local police units from communities in Kentucky and Illinois were 
among the first to show up and offer assistance to our local police 
forces. Similar dispatches from communities in California and Ohio sent 
security reinforcements to their comrades in Gretna.
  Wal-Mart voluntarily offered its Kenner store as the food supply and 
distribution center for the entire city of Kenner the day after the 
storm and then, after the Kenner store was depleted, Wal-Mart National 
continued to send two truckloads of relief per day to keep that effort 
going.
  Members of the Young President's Organization raised millions in 
essential supplies to turn over to their fellow YPO member, State 
Senator Walter Boasso. Walter used his company barges and worked with 
other leaders to set up their own dock operation and get supplies to 
St. Bernard. Acadian Ambulance is a private Lafayette-based ambulance 
service whose people not only inundated the area with ambulances to 
evacuate hospitals and nursing homes, but who actually created and 
implemented an ad hoc but effective evacuation plan while the State 
Department of Health and Hospitals dithered.
  These local leaders and private citizens, heroes both from throughout 
the devastated area and around the country, got us through those first 
crucial days. And then another group of heroes helicoptered in, the men 
and women of our military. In fact, we turned a corner in our relief 
efforts the Friday after the storm, day five, because it became a full-
scale military operation. And with that came a completely different 
mindset, a completely different culture than the bureaucratic one we 
had been fighting for 5 days. ``We can't do that,'' and ``That's not 
our job exactly,'' was replaced with, not ``Yes,'' but ``Yes, sir.'' 
Members of the Coast Guard who were out saving lives Monday afternoon, 
before the storm's winds even died down, rescued more than 33,000 
people.
  U.S. Army LTG Russell Honore from Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, assumed 
command of the Active-Duty military effort in our State and personally 
took charge to establish that can-do attitude.
  The 82nd Airborne, which took charge of New Orleans Airport that 
Saturday, organized the operation overnight and evacuated thousands.

[[Page 20059]]

This same organization that landed in Normandy, where the Higgins boats 
made in New Orleans were key to victory on D-Day, also helped in the 
rescue efforts by dropping in food, water, and supplies to thousands in 
need.
  Coast Guard VADM Thad Allen is now in charge of relief efforts and 
now finally pushing that same can-do attitude onto the bureaucracies of 
FEMA and the State bureaucracies that floundered in the early response.
  These groups of heroes--local leaders partnered with private citizens 
and the military--have stabilized efforts in the devastated areas, but 
enormous challenges remain. In the areas hardest hit by Katrina, these 
challenges include reinstituting the necessities of a modern, civil 
society, such as a full-fledged New Orleans police force and criminal 
justice system, replacing countless miles of electricity and phone 
lines, establishing huge communities of temporary housing, bulldozing 
and rebuilding entire neighborhoods and parts of the metropolitan area, 
and bringing businesses and jobs back.
  Beyond the devastated area, the radius of our challenges has expanded 
to wherever there are large numbers of evacuees--Houston, San Antonio, 
Charlotte, Salt Like City, Milwaukee--and every town and city across 
the rest of Louisiana. You see, so many of the evacuees lived their 
lives paycheck to paycheck. So many others depended on Social Security 
or other programs. They need immediate help in all of those areas--well 
beyond Louisiana. Unfortunately, the bureaucrats are still in charge of 
this.
  As we tackle these challenges, let us remember what worked in the 
initial relief effort and what didn't work. As we investigate--and we 
must--let us focus on that central question: what worked and what 
didn't work.
  I have heard many Washington talking heads say that heads must roll. 
I am all for that, and I have my own personal list. But that alone 
isn't enough. We need to look at the big picture--not just which people 
failed but which institutes and models failed, and, just as 
importantly, which others worked against all odds. A new head 
bureaucrat is not the solution to a failed bureaucracy. We need to look 
at the successful can-do military culture and the startling success of 
people-power and private initiative. Government outlays alone will not 
rebuild a great American metropolitan area and repopulate it with jobs. 
We need mega-enterprise zones to harness private sector investment 
power and to recreate jobs. Returning to the same routine of begging 
and scraping for flood and hurricane protection will ensure that this 
happens again.
  We need energy royalty sharing as a stable source of revenue for 
Corps of Engineers hurricane protection projects, and we need the same 
to use and to invest in coastal restoration to protect Louisiana and 
our Nation's oil and gas supply.
  Second, the tens of billions of dollars in government relief money 
through FEMA and the State OEP--the very same agencies which failed 
us--will lead to more failure. We need a Katrina reconstruction 
commission headed by a no-nonsense, nonpolitical businessman manager so 
that we will all have something lasting to show for this enormous 
spending.
  I am working with my colleagues in the Louisiana delegation, Senator 
Landrieu, and all of our House Members, to introduce a comprehensive 
legislative package for implementing these ideas, and we will be 
outlining our specific proposals in the very near future.
  In closing, let me make one final plea; that is, as we do all of 
this, let us do it together in a sincere spirit of bipartisanship.
  I saw horrific scenes in the days after the storm. I smelled 
sweltering stench. But what I sometimes heard coming out of Washington 
was more sickening--ridiculous arguments tying the suffering to the war 
in Iraq and the Reagan deficit, talk of boycotting bipartisan hearings 
and stonewalling independent commissions. Nobody in the stricken area 
is talking that nonsense. They are rebuilding lives.
  So perhaps the best thing we can do as leaders is to follow--follow 
the basic goodness and common sense of Louisianians and Americans. If 
we don't, if we allow this matter to become just another partisan 
political football, then we will have done one thing; that is, to 
victimize the victims of Hurricane Katrina all over again.
  Two of Louisiana's beloved football teams--the New Orleans Saints and 
the LSU Tigers--lifted our spirit with victories this past weekend. The 
Saints beat the odds, and the Tigers won in the game's last second with 
a pass verging on a Hail Mary. It reinforced for us what we already 
knew: that even in dark times, hope springs eternal, prayers are 
answered, and a can-do attitude pays dividends. I have no doubt that 
Louisiana's resolve and spirit will be demonstrated in the coming 
months as our families rebuild their lives and their communities. 
America is joining us in that same spirit. Let us all follow their 
example.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I was pleased to be in the Chamber to 
hear the remarks of the junior Senator from Louisiana and want to 
sincerely say to all of our colleagues who are here that Senator Vitter 
and I offer our views about the conditions in Louisiana and the gulf 
coast having been there, as Senator Vitter said, through almost every 
day of this horrific and devastating tragedy, a tragedy not just for 
our city of New Orleans and the parish of Jefferson but the region of 
the gulf coast.
  I thank Senator Vitter for his words to our colleagues about the way 
we have urged our delegation to work in a bipartisan spirit, with 
commonsense solutions and out-of-the-box thinking to put together a 
framework of a plan for rebuilding that calls on the best from our 
National Government, the best from our State government, the best from 
our local government, the best from our private sector, individual 
citizens, and nonprofit communities to rebuild this region and rebuild 
our cities and our towns, our counties and our parishes, in a way that 
honors the spirit of the great Americans who have called this place 
home for over 250 years.
  I thank the Senator for his remarks. He has been a steady voice of 
outstanding confidence for the people of our State, and his views and 
his wisdom that he shared with all of us today truly is inspirational 
to us all. I thank him very much for the personal invitation to be with 
him as he spoke today.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coburn). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask the current business be set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1703

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I have an amendment to send to the desk, 
and I ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Pryor], for himself and Ms. 
     Mikulski, proposes an amendment numbered 1703.

  Mr. PRYOR. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To require the FTC to conduct an immediate investigation into 
            gasoline price-gouging, and for other purposes)

       On page 190, between lines 14 and 155, insert the 
     following:
       Sec. 522. Of the funds appropriated to the Federal Trade 
     Commission by this Act, not less than $1,000,000 shall be 
     used by the Commission to conduct an immediate investigation 
     into nationwide gasoline prices in the aftermath of Hurricane 
     Katrina; Provided, That the investigation shall include (1) 
     any evidence of price-gouging by companies with total United 
     States wholesale sales of gasoline and petroleum distillates 
     for calendar 2004 in excess of $500,000,000 and by any retail

[[Page 20060]]

     distributor of gasoline and petroleum distillates for use as 
     motor vehicle fuel against which multiple formal complaints 
     (that identify the location of a particular retail 
     distributor and provide contact information for the 
     complainant) of price-gouging were filed in August or 
     September, 2005, with a Federal or State consumer protection 
     agency, (2) a comparison of, and an explanation of the 
     reasons for changes in, profit levels of such companies for 
     gasoline and petroleum distillates for use as motor vehicle 
     fuel during the 12-month period ending on August 31, 2005, 
     and their profit levels for the month of September, 2005, 
     including information for particular companies on a basis 
     that does not permit the identification of any company to 
     which the information relates, (3) a summary of tax 
     expenditures (as defined in section 3(3) of the Congressional 
     Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(3)) 
     for such companies, (4) the effects of increased gasoline 
     prices and gasoline price-gouging on economic activity in the 
     United States, and (5) the overall cost of increased gasoline 
     prices and gasoline price-gouging to the economy, including 
     the impact on consumers' purchasing power in both declared 
     State and National disaster areas and elsewhere; Provided 
     further, That, in conducting its investigation, the 
     Commission shall treat as prima facie evidence of price-
     gouging any finding that the average price of gasoline 
     available for sale to the public in September, 2005, or 
     thereafter in a market area located in an area designated as 
     a State or National disaster area because of Hurricane 
     Katrina, or in any other area where price-gouging complaints 
     have been filed because of Hurricane Katrina with a Federal 
     or State consumer protection agency, exceeded the average 
     price of such gasoline in that area for the month of August, 
     2005, unless the Commission finds substantial evidence that 
     the increase is substantially attributable to additional 
     costs in connection with the production, transportation, 
     delivery, and sale of gasoline in that area or to national or 
     international market trends; Provided further, That the 
     Commission shall provide information on the progress of the 
     investigation to the Senate and House Appropriations 
     Committees, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce every 30 days after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, shall provide those Committees a written report 
     90 days after such date, and shall transmit a final report to 
     those Committees, together with its findings and 
     recommendations, no later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act; Provided further, That the Commission 
     shall transmit recommendations, based on its findings, to the 
     Congress for any legislation necessary to protect consumers 
     from gasoline price-gouging in both State and National 
     disaster areas and elsewhere; Provided further, That chapter 
     35 of title 44, United States Code, does not apply to the 
     collection of information for the investigation required by 
     this section; Provided further, That if, during the 
     investigation, the Commission obtains evidence that a person 
     may have violated a criminal law, the Commission may transmit 
     that evidence to appropriate Federal or State authorities; 
     and Provided further, That nothing in this section affects 
     any other authority of the Commission to disclose 
     information.

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I will visit with my colleagues today about 
a problem this Nation is facing, something very critical to our economy 
and critical to every section of this great land. It is something I was 
reminded of time and time again when I was at home in Arkansas during 
the August recess: It is the high price of gasoline.
  The price of gas in the last month has risen across the Nation 
anywhere from 30 to 70 cents per gallon. In Arkansas and throughout the 
country gas prices are at an unprecedented high. Unfortunately, 
Hurricane Katrina made a bad situation worse. The Gulf of Mexico and 
the State of Louisiana are absolutely essential in our Nation's 
production of crude oil and gasoline. Hurricane Katrina has caused 
major disruptions in the supply of these crucial commodities. This is 
one reason for the recent spike in the retail price of gasoline, but I 
am certain it is not the sole cause.
  As I traveled my home State last month, I heard from countless 
citizens who believe the oil companies are taking advantage of them. 
Can you blame them? It is hard for the people in my State, as I am sure 
it is for the people in other Members' home States, to fill up their 
gas tanks and pay record high prices at the pump while, at the same 
time, opening up the business page and seeing the oil companies are 
making record profits. That does not sit well with people.
  I believe the consumers have a legitimate concern, a legitimate 
question about why prices are so high, why they have been trending up 
in the last year or so. We should have an investigation. If price 
gouging is occurring, we need to know that. If it is occurring--I am 
not saying it is--if it is occurring, we need to stop that activity 
dead in its tracks.
  This is why I offer this amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and 
State appropriations bill that directs the Federal Trade Commission to 
conduct an immediate investigation into nationwide gasoline prices in 
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We must find out--when I say ``find 
out,'' I do not mean speculate, not accuse, not assume but find out 
whether gas price gouging is occurring through the supply chain or 
distribution markets. And if price gouging is occurring, we must punish 
those who take advantage of this national tragedy.
  I thank my colleague from Maryland, Senator Mikulski, who has been a 
leader on this issue and who has helped shape this amendment and is one 
of the cosponsors of this amendment. I thank her for her leadership. 
She has done a great job not just on this legislation but many others 
as we all know.
  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have seen this country come 
together. It has been very heartwarming. Today I have been on the phone 
with people all over my State who are operating these camps for people 
who have been evacuated from the gulf coast area. It is encouraging to 
see communities, to see people come out of the woodwork to help. It has 
been very encouraging to see churches in my State go the extra mile for 
people who need it the most. I am very encouraged by that.
  We also need to be mindful of what high gas prices do to this 
Nation's economy. We need to know who the honest brokers are. We need 
to know when gas stations raise their prices, are they doing it because 
they need to, because they are being charged, or are they doing it to 
make a quick buck? Those are legitimate questions.
  We also need to know what companies sold their gas at a higher price 
because they needed to and what companies sold their gas at a higher 
price with greed as their motivation.
  The people in my State and the people in your State and the people in 
all of our States have a right to know why gas prices are so high right 
now. This will cause a great hardship for the economy, for every sector 
of this country. Everything we buy, everything we pay for, has a fuel 
component built into it. We understand that.
  As I wind down, we have had complaints from all over my State. We had 
one guy write in and say the price jumped 60 cents in 1 day. I know 
other Members have had complaints. I appreciate consideration of this 
amendment and appreciate my colleagues looking at it. It is important 
for this country. It is important for the Senate to take up this issue.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, may I make a request of the Senator from 
Vermont, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee? I want to be 
able to speak on the Pryor amendment. I wonder, given what the Senator 
needs to do and, of course, the responsibilities that are pressing, 
should we do that after this?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we have 20 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Twenty minutes equally divided and under the 
previous order.
  Mr. LEAHY. I ask the Senator from Maryland how much time does the 
Senator seek.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. It was 5, but I could get it to 3.
  Mr. LEAHY. Could we start ours later?
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me 
suggest it has been the request of some of the people on the Judiciary 
Committee that we delay about 10 to 12, maybe 15 minutes, and that 
gives the Senator from Maryland an opportunity to be heard. Is that 
acceptable?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, why don't we begin debate on mercury, and I 
ask unanimous consent we begin it at 12:17. That gives us time for the 
Senator from Maryland. I know we are going to break in the Judiciary 
Committee, and that would give plenty of time.

[[Page 20061]]


  Mr. INHOFE. We will say 20 after.
  Mr. LEAHY. Twenty after.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent 
request that we proceed to S.J. Res. 20 at 12:20?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise as a cosponsor of the Pryor 
amendment. Why? Because American people believe there is gasoline price 
gouging. We have to find out if there is. What this amendment does is 
add $1 million for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether 
there is price gouging.
  There seems to be evidence of price gouging throughout the supply 
chain and in the distribution markets. The impact of gasoline price 
spikes on our country is severe. They impact people's day-to-day lives 
at the family level, at the small business level, and at the macro 
level. And the American people believe deep down there is gouging.
  All of America knows that Hurricane Katrina had a terrible impact on 
our country, that the storm had a significant impact on oil production 
and oil refining capacity in the gulf. We understand refineries were 
down and badly damaged, distribution pipelines were affected, shipping 
channels were blocked due to obstructive deposits and, of course, we 
have seen offshore drilling impacted. But these disruptions happened 
over a 3 week period. Why were the gas prices being spiked an hour and 
a half after Katrina happened? We saw price spikes in Maryland even 
before that. Marylanders are hot about this and so is this Senator.
  Now, my cost of commuting from Baltimore to Washington has already 
gone up $30 a week. I can afford it; I am a Senator. But I saw on a 
local Baltimore TV station a woman who filled up her minivan--a soccer 
mom--and it was $90. She put her head on the windshield and wept about 
how her family was going to afford filling the family vehicle with gas.
  My Governor is also deeply concerned. He brought in the gasoline 
station operators to find out why prices were the third highest in the 
Nation. Little Maryland, behind California. And who are the other two 
highest? New York and the District of Columbia, our neighbor.
  What are we saying? The average price in Maryland is over $3, 
compared to $2.46 just a month ago. Throughout the Baltimore-Washington 
corridor, gas is selling at $3.49, $3.39. But do you know what. We 
think there is some kind of deal going on because it can vary within a 
3-mile radius. Over where I live, gas has been selling for $3.63 a 
gallon. If you go into another neighborhood, just 5 miles away, it is 
selling for $3.03--a 60-cent-a-gallon difference.
  Tell me, who is pulling the strings? Who is setting these prices? 
Well, right now, we could end up just with finger-pointing. I want to 
pinpoint the problem.
  First of all, I salute Governor Ehrlich for convening the meetings he 
had. His meetings broke up, and he was not satisfied. He is going the 
next step. I want us to now operate on facts because we see how 
gasoline prices are affecting families, such as the cost of commuting 
to work, and Maryland is a commuter State.
  The price of gasoline is skyrocketing. It is affecting small 
businesses, from the florists who deliver flowers, to the pharmacies 
that deliver prescription drugs, and so on.
  Then, you look at our businesses. So much of our food supply comes to 
our communities, our wonderful supermarkets, by truck. Also, you go out 
along the Chesapeake Bay where people love our crabs, but my watermen 
are just aghast at what it costs to take their boats out to harvest 
seafood.
  So I could give story after story. But Marylanders want to know, is 
there price gouging? If there is, we have to go after it and stop it. 
We know there are record high profits in the oil and gas industry. We 
know there is price variance with the oil companies. We know there is 
price variance even block by block as to how much consumers are being 
charged for gasoline.
  But, most of all, we know there is going to have to be shared 
sacrifice because of Katrina. We are going to have to examine how we 
build refineries in our country. We have to have an oil conservation 
strategy; conservation could be our next North Slope. We should focus 
on those things.
  But right now I am worried about what is being charged at the pump. 
We want to make sure there is not price gouging, and that there is not 
price fixing. We are asking the Federal Trade Commission to 
investigate. I want to advocate an amendment to put money in the 
Federal checkbook to do so.
  Mr. President, know that we Marylanders want to move ahead, we want 
to cooperate, but we want to know why gasoline is so expensive and what 
is behind the price spikes and price fluctuations?
  And hello, oil companies out there, if you are listening, if you want 
to respond to me, I am right there at 503, in the Senate Hart Building. 
I have an open line to listen to what you have to say because I am 
getting an earful in Maryland.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                          ____________________