[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4485-4486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             ENERGY PRICES

  (Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, when President Obama was 
inaugurated in January 2009, the average nationwide price for a gallon 
of gasoline was $1.84. The 2012 March nationwide average has been $3.89 
or higher, reflecting a 110 percent increase. Keep in mind that every 
penny

[[Page 4486]]

increase in the price of gasoline costs the U.S. economy $1 billion and 
American consumers $4 million per day.
  Now, last week, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, while testifying in 
front of a House committee, was asked to grade his performance on 
American gasoline prices. He graded himself an ``A''--an ``A,'' 
America--when the price at the pump for American families has gone up 
over 110 percent.
  I'm sorry, Secretary Chu, America doesn't grade on a curve. We give 
your performance and the performance of the administration's handling 
of energy in America the grade of ``F.''

                          ____________________