Davis Hears Testimony on Hurricane Katrina Response and Rising Gas Prices

My committee heard testimony today from the Gov of Miss and the Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources on progress they are making recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. The committee also took testimony today about the national crisis we are facing on rising gas prices. Below is the statement I submitted for the record calling on the Chairman to act quickly and decisively to consider legislation that would halt these rising gas prices, put a premium on exploring other methods of conservation and protect consumers from opportunistic gouging.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee,

Thank you for holding this hearing on the effect that Hurricane Katrina has had on the supply and prices of gasoline in the United States. Last month, Congress passed a massive energy bill that did nothing to address the price of gas at the pump. It is unfortunate that it took this natural disaster to finally get Congress to act on addressing the price consumers pay at the pump.

Today, we are here to specifically look at the economy of gasoline – a system that has proven to be fundamentally flawed, even before Katrina devastated our coasts.

It is my hope that we will uncover long term solutions to address the supply and pricing of gasoline in this process of Congressional hearings and investigations that are sure to come.

We have all heard the stories of price gauging at the pump – I urge the witnesses at this hearing today to heed the call of this Congress and keep in mind that America is watching your actions closely to ensure that suppliers of gasoline are not unfairly profiting in this time of national crisis.

Gasoline is unlike any other US commodity. The fuel that every American relies on in one way or another is impacted by a global market of supply and demand which alters the prices of products from Tupperware to jet fuel. The refining process is one of the steps in the pricing of gasoline. Some Members of the House of Representatives argue that relaxing the laws that protect consumers will assist in easing this severely bottlenecked market. I don’t believe that approach will really address the problem or tell us why the years of bottlenecks and tight supplies have allowed the refineries to maintain and increase their profit margins. The Members of this Committee must be aware that opportunistic exploitation of consumer protections will not be tolerated by the American people.

Today, it is as clear as it has ever been that we are unable to drill our way out of oil and gas dependence. While solutions to short term disruption solutions are needed at this time to help address the impact of Hurricane Katrina, we must look to solutions that will affect the long term energy markets and keep in our minds the economic, environmental and homeland security of our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. I am eager to work with the Members of this committee towards the goal of finding real solutions to obstacles that will be outlined in the witness’s testimonies.

I also look forward to hearing from the courageous Governors of Louisiana and Mississippi. All of America appreciates their leadership through these difficult and trying times for their state and our nation. Floridians are said to have PhD’s in hurricane preparedness, and it is with this knowledge that we will help in the recovery process for Hurricane Katrina in any way we can.

Mr. Chairman, I urge the Committee to put partisan politics aside; we Floridians cannot wait through a year of hearings and investigations to find out what failures occurred in the preparation and response to Katrina as hurricane season is not yet over for us. We must get to the bottom of this as no state stands to gain or loose from learning the lessons of Katrina and the aftermath quickly.

Mr. Chairman, again, I thank you and the Members of this Committee for the opportunity to discuss gas prices today and look forward to working with you on this and many other issues in the future.