[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3386-3387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            GASOLINE PRICES

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor of the Senate to 
discuss an issue that is critically facing the American people: It is 
the price of gasoline at the pump. It is something that, in my opinion, 
will impact our economy, impact the economic recovery we are all hoping 
will continue in this country. But with every penny the cost of 
gasoline goes up, it has been estimated it takes about a billion 
dollars away from the amount of money that can be spent on other things 
in this country and to growing the economy.
  We are at a point where the American people, who have to balance 
their budgets every year--and States have to do it, of course. 
Washington doesn't do that, but the American people do. They have to 
focus on their pocketbooks. When they are going to fill up with gas at 
the pump and are noticing that they are approaching a point where it is 
going to be $100 to get a fill-up, they worry about the impact on the 
quality of their life, their ability to put food on the table for their 
children, and clothing on their children, and even have the money to 
get back and forth to work--those fortunate enough to have jobs.
  One can say: Well, is it really a problem? I believe it is. I filled 
up yesterday morning in Casper. A young man in front of me at the 
filling station was filling up his pickup truck. He was watching the 
numbers go up and up. I filled up a week ago in Wyoming as well. We use 
a lot of gasoline in Wyoming. We travel long distances. I was filling 
up in the evening. I put my credit card in, and it stopped at $75 
because apparently they have to reset these pumps. One would think that 
with $75 one would have enough money to fill up. But not as these gas 
prices continue to rise.
  My concern is that so much of this money is being sent overseas to 
people who are trying to blow us up. We have an opportunity to be much 
more secure in our energy resources by developing our energy resources 
at home. It just seems that this administration's policies are making 
it that much harder.
  One may say: How high can gasoline prices go? With the unrest in the 
Middle East, a front-page story a few days ago in USA TODAY said: ``If 
unrest spreads, gas may hit $5 a gallon''--$5 a gallon by summer.
  We need to do some things in this country that this administration 
has continued to block. We need to find more of our own energy, be 
reliant more on ourselves and less on foreign sources of energy. That 
means doing three things: exploring offshore, exploring on Federal 
land, and exploring in Alaska. We know there are huge reserves of oil, 
of energy in those locations. Yet day by day those efforts are being 
blocked. The impact on our overall economy is huge, and it is because 
of policies of this administration.
  USA TODAY this morning: ``Will gas prices stall U.S. upturn? 
Consumers could cut spending again.''
  It is not in the best interest of this country for us to have energy 
policies that make it more expensive for Americans to gas up their 
cars. It does not help the economy of this country when the policies of 
this administration do things that make it more expensive and harder 
for small businesses to create jobs and hire people. We are trying to 
get people hired, back to work.
  That is what we need to focus on--jobs and the economy. When the 
administration's policies cut into our ability to use energy sources 
from within this country--red, white, and blue energy jobs; red, white, 
and blue energy as well--and just send more money overseas, that does 
not help us as a nation, it does not help our economy, and it does not 
help strengthen our communities. We are so blessed in this country with 
wonderful families, wonderful communities, and wonderful land. Yet we 
do not seem to be making wise decisions on a daily basis with the 
policies coming out of this administration.
  It is interesting to see who is actually benefiting from these 
increased costs because we know American families are not benefiting, 
we know American taxpayers are not benefiting, and we know people 
trying to get their kids off to school are not benefiting. Who is 
benefiting from this huge increase in the cost of energy and the cost 
of oil? All we need to do is go to the front page of the business 
section of today's New York Times: ``Fears About Mideast Oil Pay Off 
for Russia.'' For Russia, Mr. President. ``Whatever the eventual 
outcome of the Arab world's social upheaval, there is a clear economic

[[Page 3387]]

winner so far: Vladimir V. Putin.'' Right there, that is the winner. 
The economic policies of this administration to limit our ability and 
curtail our ability to use American energy, American oil, to keep down 
the cost of gasoline, are benefiting Russia.
  It says:

       Russia, which pumps more oil than Saudi Arabia, is reaping 
     a windfall from the steep rise in global energy prices 
     resulting from instability in oil regions of the Middle East 
     and North Africa . . . Russia does not have any oil wells 
     standing idle . . . Right now Russia is pumping oil at its 
     top capacity.

  In a country where we and this Congress in particular choose winners 
and losers in energy, the winner seems to be Russia because of the 
policies of this administration.
  The Hill newspaper this morning said: ``Pump pain for Obama.'' This 
clearly lies specifically at the feet of the President because of the 
policies of this administration.
  We have had a situation in the Gulf of Mexico where there has been a 
moratorium, which is extended almost permanently, shutting down the use 
of oil reserves for the United States. The administration--so happy, 
and pronounced the moratorium--has not until this week allowed for an 
additional permit and finally one when the price of gasoline went up at 
the pump 38 cents on average, about $3.50 per gallon.
  The Department of Interior, last October in the Federal Register, had 
a solution. They had some ideas about this because the Department of 
the Interior admitted--the President's own Secretary and his Department 
of Interior admitted that what they were doing in the Gulf of Mexico 
would have an impact.
  It says:

       The impact on the domestic deepwater hydrocarbon production 
     as a result of these regulations is expected to be negative.

  What it means is that it is going to cut down on American sources of 
energy. We need energy security. We as a nation need to do it in an 
environmentally responsible way, and we need to focus on economic 
growth. This administration does not seem to be willing to make that 
distinction about energy security and economic growth and the needs we 
have to help make our economy stronger.
  What is the administration's position? What, as of October of last 
year, was their position on all of this to say: OK, we know we are 
going to have impacts in the gulf. They didn't say: Oh, I know, we can 
go onshore and look on Federal land. They didn't say: Let's go to 
Alaska to explore. This is this administration's position. They said:

       Currently, there is sufficient spare capacity in OPEC--

  In OPEC, in the Middle East--

     to offset a decrease in Gulf of Mexico deepwater production 
     that could occur as a result of this rule.

  The rule that they are going to shut down the gulf.

       Therefore, the increase in the price of hydrocarbon 
     products to consumers from the increased cost to drill and 
     operate on the Outer Continental Shelf is expected to be 
     minimal.

  That is the administration's solution. They do not expect anything to 
happen. They are not worried about it. And if there is a problem, just 
buy more oil from OPEC, send more American dollars overseas. That is 
the administration's position? And what about the impact on our 
economy?
  We do have a Secretary of Energy. One would think he would be 
concerned about the cost of energy and the impact on American families. 
Not so when we look at some of the statements he has made. In the past, 
he said:

       Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of 
     gasoline to the levels of Europe.

  That is the proposal of the Secretary of Energy--figure out how to 
boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe. How much does 
gasoline cost in Europe? Almost $8 a gallon.
  The President, when he was a Senator and running for President, did 
not seem to think high energy prices were a problem. He just wanted the 
price to go up gradually. He said the problem is when things go up too 
quickly.
  The American people who try to put bread on the table for their kids, 
clothing on their backs, get them off to school, and then go to work 
themselves, notice this. They know every time the cost of a gallon of 
gasoline goes up by a penny or a nickel or 38 cents, as it has most 
recently, the economy will suffer as a result. It is specifically a 
result of the policies of this administration, the policies that ignore 
the need for American energy.
  At a time when we need to be focused on jobs, that we need to realize 
the amount of uncertainty in the Middle East, there is now sticker 
shock at the pumps, and it is the policies of this administration that 
are keeping us from developing the energy security we need.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nebraska.

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