Gas Prices

1. Find the Cheapest Gas
   1. Find the Cheapest Gas in Your Area
   2. Use Your Smartphone to Find Cheap Gas
   3. Calculating the Cost of Your Road Trip
2. What Drives Up the Price of Gas?
   1. What makes up the cost of a gallon of gas and diesel

http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

2. Factors of the Price of Oil
   1. International Volatility
      1. Oil is produced, consumed, and traded globally, and what happens in any one part of the market can affect the broader market. Whether oil is produced domestically or imported, the price is set by world oil markets. The unrest in the Middle East, North Africa and South America, particularly in the oil producing countries has created instability in the market, which contributes to upward pressure on prices. As prospects for the oil market changes, so will the change in prices. Though the United States produces about 50% of its oil domestically the price is set by the global market, therefore a global price per barrel.
   2. Domestic Production
      1. Policies must be enacted which encourage domestic production of oil, both on and offshore. The technological developments in industry which allow for the recovery of oil from shale formations have boosted domestic production in the past three years, lowering oil imports from 60% of total consumption in 2005.

3. What is Congressman Reed Doing to Fix High Gas Prices?
   1. I started the Marcellus Shale Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives to provide a bipartisan forum for Members of Congress to express their opinions regarding the development of the Marcellus Shale. The Caucus is also used as an educational resource for Members to access all available information relating to the development of the Marcellus Shale.
      1. Increasing our domestic supply of natural gas will take pressure off of the use of oil as a fuel source by encouraging natural gas as a transportation fuel
   2. I supported the following legislation to encourage domestic production:
      1. H.R. 1229, the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to better facilitate the safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico. This bill would end the de facto drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to act within thirty days on an application for a permit to drill.
      2. H.R. 1230, the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act, would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore oil and gas lease sales within four months of the date of enactment for this Act. This bill would ensure that projects are subjected to a strict timetable and are implemented in a timely manner.
      3. H.R. 1231, the Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act, would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program is offered in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources. The bill would also establish a domestic production goal for oil and natural gas that would equate to a tripling of current American offshore production and reduce foreign imports by nearly one-third.
      4. H.R. 3408, the Protecting Investment in oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy and Resource Security (PIONEERS) Act, would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a permit for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and direct the Secretary of the Interior to approve the leases of federal lands inland and offshore for production
4. Tips to Increase Your Gas Mileage
   1. Keep Tires Properly Inflated (You can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. This saves you up to $.09/gallon).
   2. Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil (You can improve your gas mileage by 1–2 percent by using the manufacturer's recommended grade of motor oil. Can save you up to $.06/gallon)
   3. Observe the Speed Limit (While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can improve you gas mileage by 7-23% saving $.21-$.71/gallon.)
   4. Remove Excess Weight (Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent. Removing excess weight could save you $.03-$.06/gallon)
   5. www.fueleconomy.gov
5. Tell Congressman Reed How High Gas/Energy Prices Impact You
   1. Click here to email Congressman Reed <update hyperlink