[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7671]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDE REAL TAX RELIEF FOR CONSUMERS AND REPEAT ENERGY TAX BREAKS

  (Mr. CLEAVER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, how high do gas prices have to go before 
this administration is willing to break its ties with the oil and gas 
company CEOs? For 5 years now, the major oil companies have been 
bringing in record profits, while the pain at the pump has grown worse 
for average Americans.
  Today, consumers are paying $3 a gallon. If you are making minimum 
wage, that means your first hour at work is used to buy 1\1/2\ gallons 
of gasoline for your car.
  Major oil companies just reported $16 billion in profits for the 
first quarter alone, and the national response has been moral outrage. 
Yet last year they pushed through an energy bill that gave oil and gas 
companies an additional $20 billion in tax breaks and subsidies.
  The problem is, those in charge here are not willing to have the 
courage to stand up and make things right.

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