[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 15620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              SPECULATORS ARE DRIVING UP THE PRICE OF OIL

  (Mr. PERRIELLO asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PERRIELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of consumers facing 
rising prices at the pump. How is it that demand for oil can drop, 
supply can rise, and yet costs can increase? This defies the rules of 
the free market.
  And the answer is the speculators who continue to drive up the price 
of oil.
  We hear talk here about protecting consumers, but I'm sick of seeing 
crocodile tears shed for consumers that are filling up the swimming 
pools of our speculators.
  We hear an energy plan, particularly from the other side of the 
aisle, that has no long game, no short game, and no medium game. It's 
like taking our country into the U.S. Open with no short game on the 
greens, no long game for the tees, and trying to get out of the rough 
with a putter.
  It's time that we have the courage to protect consumers immediately 
by going after the speculators and developing a real energy policy that 
is in keeping with the courage of this country, the innovation of our 
private sector, and the desire to step up as each generation to the 
challenge at hand.

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