May 13, 2008

Mr. Speaker, we get criticized a lot in this Congress for not taking a proactive approach to issues that we see facing the country. And here is an example of something where we are working together in a bipartisan way.

The comments from my friend from Texas notwithstanding, this is an issue that has bipartisan support. And we can argue about how much is this going to save the American people. How much is this going to take off of a gallon of gas? And Goldman Sachs, a group that knows something about the market certainly and the impact that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will have on the market, says it can be upwards of 25 cents a gallon that this saves.

Now that is not a long-term solution. We understand that. And we can have the argument about whether we should drill off the coast or drill in ANWR and increase supplies in other ways or build more refineries. That is a long-term argument. What we are doing today is taking a short-term approach that is going to help families today.

We cannot continue to do nothing. This Congress has to act. And we are going to act today. And we are going to save the American people a quarter on the gallon.