[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TIME TO ACT ON THE HIGH PRICE OF OIL

  (Mr. KAGEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, it's time for the President to act. Record 
high prices for gasoline and diesel fuels are crippling our economy and 
taking our hard-earned money and putting it into the bank accounts of 
Big Oil and market speculators. The President must take action today to 
provide relief for small businesses and ordinary people who are 
fighting just to keep their heads above water.
  With the price of diesel fuel hitting $4 per gallon and the strategic 
petroleum reserve at 95 percent full, it's time for action. The 
petroleum reserve has 695 million gallons within it, approximately the 
same in August of 2005 when the President released, due to Katrina and 
due to Hurricane Rita, the oil supplies. According to independent 
analysts, if we suspend purchasing additional oil into the reserve, it 
will lower gas prices by 25 cents per gallon. Whose side is this 
administration on?
  Times are tough, and the two things the President can do right now is 
to cut the cost of fuel at the pump and also to reduce health care 
costs. Today, I ask the President, again, to join me in working 
together to put more money in the pockets of ordinary taxpayers instead 
of Big Oil.

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