[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            RELEASE OIL FROM SPR TO BRING DOWN PRICES TODAY

  (Mr. ARCURI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ARCURI. Madam Speaker, Americans are paying the price for 
President Bush's lack of an energy policy. It's this lack of a policy 
that has produced record prices for consumers and record profits for 
Big Oil. This President has the authority to send oil into the American 
market by opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an action that would 
put oil on the market in 13 days and would provide relief at the pump 
immediately.
  But instead of providing American drivers with relief from $4-a-
gallon gas, the administration has decided instead to give their 
friends in Big Oil one last gift before they leave office. The 
President's action to lift the offshore drilling moratorium will do 
nothing to lower prices at the pump now. In fact, his own Energy 
Information Administration says opening up new areas for drilling won't 
lower gas prices for 20 years, and even then by only a couple of 
pennies.
  Madam Speaker, deploying some oil from the Reserve would increase the 
supply of oil and help bring down the cost of gasoline. With so many 
Americans struggling in today's economy, it's time President Bush 
stands up for consumers and taps into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

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