[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12749]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ESCALATING GAS PRICES

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice to those urging 
change in the face of escalating gas prices. With the start of the 
summer season, the far-reaching effects of ever increasing gas prices 
is becoming more and more apparent.
  It will result in a decrease in income for those in the travel 
industry, and that will lead to an increase in prices for dependent 
goods. As a result, the national economy will experience lower spending 
and higher prices. We are not now in a terrible economic situation, as 
some of our colleagues have said, but the high gas prices can lead to 
that.
  Yet in the face of this self-perpetuating cycle, Democrats are not 
fighting for change here. We need to move our energy production 
technologies into the 21st century and build more coal, hydroelectric, 
and nuclear plants. We have ways to increase our domestic oil and gas 
production, as well as renewable and domestically available energy 
sources. At the same time, we must support the commercialization of our 
shale oil resources which hold enough oil to meet America's needs for 
more than two centuries.
  Congress cannot afford to stand as an idle spectator as gas prices 
continue to erode the foundation of our economy. I urge Members to 
support Republican efforts to actively seek solutions to our current 
situation. American families deserve results and it is our 
responsibility to see that they get them.

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