[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6920-6921]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE HIGH PRICE OF GASOLINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, as the summer driving season is set to 
begin, gasoline prices are at a record high. While some continue to 
blame the Bush administration and the Republicans in Congress, the 
truth is that neither is responsible for the record highs. The reason 
for the high gas prices includes the cost of crude oil due to a 
worldwide

[[Page 6921]]

explosion in demand, the lack of refinery processing capacity, and the 
overregulation here in Washington.
  The House will get the opportunity to address this problem this week 
with the House bringing to the floor the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 
H.R. 6. The long-awaited legislation contains a number of provisions 
that would lower gas prices. H.R. 6 encourages more domestic production 
of oil with incentives such as a streamlined permit process, promotes a 
greater refining capacity to bring more oil to market, and increases 
the gasoline supply by stopping the proliferation of expensive regional 
boutique fuels.
  The Department of Energy predicts by 2025 U.S. oil and natural gas 
demand will rise by 46 percent, with energy demand increasing 1 percent 
for every 2 percent in GDP growth. Critics of H.R. 6 claim that it 
would do little to curb consumption or drive down prices. In fact, this 
legislation includes provisions to do just that. In order to scale back 
demand for oil, the proposal encourages vehicles powered by hydrogen 
fuel cells and increases funding for the Department of Transportation 
to work to improve fuel efficiency standards. Furthermore, it 
authorizes $200 million for the clean cities program which will provide 
grants to State and local governments to acquire alternative-fueled 
vehicles.
  Curbing demand is necessary, but it is not nearly enough to lower the 
price of gas. We also need to increase domestic production of oil. 
Ending our dependence on foreign oil is not only important to the 
economy but also doubly important to national security. Currently, the 
U.S. imports about 60 percent of its oil. The Department of Energy 
projects this number will increase to 73 percent by 2025. In order to 
ensure reliable and secure supplies of oil, we have no choice but 
simply to increase our domestic supply.
  Domestic energy production must be increased without compromising a 
clean environment. There have been giant leaps in technology that would 
produce oil and natural gas in an environmentally safe manner. We need 
a comprehensive energy policy that recognizes that sophisticated new 
technology greatly reduces adverse impacts on the environment by 
exploration and production. Along with the incredible advances in 
technology, transportation, and medicine that improve our lives comes 
the increased need for energy.
  In addition, overregulation by the government also contributes to 
regional and seasonal price fluctuations that increase costs and, of 
course, reduce flexibility to meet consumer demand. According to the 
Energy Information Agency, last year refining costs represented about 
20 percent of the retail cost of gasoline. By simply scaling back the 
excessive and cumbersome Federal regulations on refiners, we could 
significantly reduce these costs. For example, the 1990 Clean Air Act 
amendments mandate the sale of cleaner burning reformulated gasoline in 
order to reduce summer smog in nine major metropolitan areas. The law 
also requires that RFG contain at least 2 percent oxygen by weight.
  To comply with these regulations, refiners must switch from winter 
grade fuel to costlier summer blend gasoline. According to the Federal 
Trade Commission, this adds 4 cents to 8 cents per gallon to the price 
of gasoline. Likewise, complying with a national low sulfur gasoline 
regulation for passenger cars not only represents scientific challenges 
for refiners but also could adversely affect gasoline supply and, of 
course, availability. The industry will need to invest more than $8 
billion over the next 3 years to meet this requirement, which will 
result in higher prices at the pump.
  This hodgepodge of customized fuel requirements increases production 
costs which are ultimately reflected in the price of gasoline that we 
pay today. These varied gasoline specifications also restrict the 
ability of refiners and distributors to move supplies around the 
country in response to local and, of course, regional shortages.
  High gas prices affect every sector of the American economy and 
especially hit families the hardest. Congress has been debating and 
debating this issue for too long. We now have the chance to enact this 
week comprehensive energy legislation that will go a long way to lower 
the cost of gasoline. We need to fully embrace this opportunity before 
it is too late.

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