[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6717-6718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  WHAT TO DO ABOUT SOARING OIL PRICES

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim my 5 minutes 
at this time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, gasoline prices are soaring and the people are 
screaming, and they want something done about it now.
  $100 rebate checks to American motorists will not cut it, nor will 
mandatory mileage requirements for new vehicles. Taxing oil profits 
will only force prices higher. But there are some very important things 
we can do immediately to help.
  First, we must reassess our foreign policy and announce some changes. 
One of the reasons we went into Iraq was to secure our oil. Before the 
Iraq war, oil was less than $30 a barrel. Today it is over $70. The 
sooner we get out of Iraq and allow the Iraqis to solve their own 
problems the better. Since 2002, oil production in Iraq has dropped 50 
percent. Pipeline sabotage and fires are routine, and we have been 
unable to prevent them. Soaring gasoline prices are a giant, unintended 
consequence of our invasion, pure and simple.
  Second, we must end our obsession for a military confrontation with 
Iran. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and according to our own CIA 
is not on the verge of obtaining one for years. Iran is not in 
violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and has a guaranteed 
right to enrich uranium for energy, in spite of the incessant 
government and media propaganda to the contrary. Iran has never been 
sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, yet the drumbeat grows louder 
for attacking certain sites in Iran, either by conventional or even by 
nuclear means. Repeated resolutions by Congress stirs up unnecessary 
animosity toward Iran, and creates even more concern about future oil 
supplies from the Middle East.
  We must quickly announce we do not seek war with Iran, remove the 
economic sanctions against her, and accept her offer to negotiate a 
diplomatic solution to the impacts. An attack on Iran, coupled with our 
continued presence in Iraq, could hike gas prices to $5 or $6 per 
gallon here at home. By contrast, a sensible approach to Iran could 
quickly lower oil prices by $20 a barrel.
  Third, we must remember that prices of all things go up because of 
inflation. Inflation, by definition, is an increase in the money 
supply. The money supply is controlled by the Federal Reserve and 
responds to the deficits Congress creates. When deficits are excessive, 
as they are today, the Fed creates new dollars out of thin air to buy 
Treasury bills and keeps interest rates artificially low. But when new 
money is created out of nothing, the money already in circulation loses 
value.

                              {time}  1945

  Once this is recognized, prices rise, some more rapidly than others. 
That is what we see today with the cost of energy.
  Exploding deficits due to runaway entitlement spending and the cost 
of dangerous militarism create pressure for the Fed to inflate the 
money supply. This contributes greatly to the higher prices we all 
claim to oppose. If we want to do something about gas prices, we should 
demand and vote for greatly reduced welfare and military spending, a 
balanced budget, and fewer regulations that interfere with the market 
development of alternative fuels. We also should demand a return

[[Page 6718]]

to a sound commodity monetary standard. All subsidies and special 
benefits to energy companies should be ended; and, in the meantime, 
let's eliminate Federal gas taxes at the pump.
  Oil prices are at a level where consumers reduce consumption 
voluntarily. The market will work if we let it. But as great as the 
market economy is, it cannot overcome a foreign policy that is destined 
to disrupt oil supplies and threaten the world with an expanded and 
dangerous conflict in the Middle East.

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