[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            DEMOCRATS TAKE ACTION ON RECORD HIGH GAS PRICES

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, record high gas prices are forcing most 
American families to make some tough decisions this summer. While 
prices remain around $4 a gallon, some families have to decide if they 
should take that planned summer vacation or not, while others are 
trying to determine what normal everyday drives can be eliminated 
because they simply cannot afford it.
  This Democratic Congress recognizes the financial hardship these 
record prices are creating for everyone. That is why we have passed 
seven bills in the last couple of months to help lower prices.
  We passed legislation in a strong, bipartisan fashion suspending 
sending more oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the end of 
the year, which will result in a 25 cents a gallon price reduction in 
July. We also passed legislation holding OPEC and big oil accountable 
for price fixing and cracking down on oil companies engaged in market 
manipulation.
  Mr. Speaker, as Americans face continued pain at the pump, we should 
work in a strong bipartisan fashion to pass commonsense legislation 
that provides some immediate relief.

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