| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – It’s Memorial Day weekend and while gasoline prices in my district
are among the nation’s highest at well over $2.00 a gallon, in fact about
$2.22 a gallon for regular, it still doesn’t appear that President Bush
and Vice President Cheney have any plans to bring relief to my constituents
at the gas pump.
While
big oil is getting bigger, consumers in my district and across the country
are getting gouged. And the President’s energy plan does nothing to address
that. Instead the Administration has proposed “relief” for its oil
industry friends.
Big
oil hit the Jackpot last year, thanks to consumers in Chicago and across
the country. They paved the way for big oil’s record profits.
The top oil companies profits last year went up over 100% on the average
from the previous year-combining for almost $50 billion in profits.
And now Exxon-Mobil is number one on the Fortune 500 list.
And
none of us should be surprised at the giveaways big oil is reaping from
this Administration and the GOP. President Bush received $2 million in
contributions for his campaign and the Republican party received over $25
million from big oil with Enron and Exxon-Mobil giving the most.
It looks like those companies made the right bet.
Mr.
President, I am again calling on you to persuade or to jawbone your friends
in the industry to bring these prices down NOW. Think about that
while you’re relaxing at Camp David and my constituents are canceling their
family’s summer vacations. |
