FEINGOLD
PRAISES SENATE EFFORT TO LOWER GAS PRICES
By Suspending Deposits into the Nearly-Full Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, More Oil Will Be Available in the Marketplace to Help Bring
Down Gas Prices
May 13, 2008
Washington, D.C. –
The U.S. Senate passed a measure co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
(D-WI) that will help lower gas prices that have reached all-time highs.
The Senate passed a Feingold-backed initiative to suspend the filling
of the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) that was originally created
to provide relief when oil and gasoline supply shortages caused economic
hardships. While the average price of gas approaches four dollars per
gallon in Wisconsin and across the country, the administration continues
to divert oil into the SPR, pitting the government against the American
consumer by taking more oil off the market and driving up the price
of gas.
“I am pleased the Senate
has taken a common-sense step toward easing the burden Americans are
feeling at the gas pump by making more oil available in the marketplace,”
Feingold said. “This move is not a cure-all but it should provide
some relief without jeopardizing our oil reserves.”
The Senate also blocked an
effort that would have endangered the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
by allowing drilling in the pristine Alaskan wilderness. Feingold has
been a Senate leader in opposing drilling in the Refuge and has led
efforts in the Senate to prevent it. To help protect the Refuge, Feingold
is a cosponsor of a bill that would designate the Refuge’s coastal
plain as a federal wilderness area.
“Drilling in the Arctic
Refuge would sacrifice one of America’s greatest natural treasures
for a supply of oil that would not do anything to significantly enhance
our energy security,” Feingold said. “The Senate has rejected
efforts to drill in the Arctic Refuge time after time. It is time to
move past this divisive debate and develop a new energy strategy that
will protect our national security, economy, and environment.”
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