“When will the Democrat Leadership listen to the 77 percent of Americans who want us to use our own domestic resources to drive down the price of gas and say ‘Yes, we can.’ When will they listen to more than a dozen of their own members and say ‘Yes, we can.’”
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding Democrat obstruction of serious ideas to help drive down the price of gas:
“When historians look back at the 110th Congress, they’ll say that the most vexing domestic issue we faced was a rapid and dramatic rise in gas prices at the pump.
“And, as is stands today, they’ll have to conclude that the Democratic Leaders ignored the problem by refusing to unlock the domestic energy resources that they put off limits back when gas and oil were cheap.
“And if these historians do their homework, they’ll note the irony in all this. They’ll note that these same Democrats were the ones who took the Majority less than two years ago promising to do something about gas prices that were a lot lower than they are today.
“I recently received a letter from a dialysis center in Kentucky. It was a plea to do something about gas prices. The letter said that some of the rural patients who have to go to this center for treatment three times a week are now foregoing their treatment because they can't afford the gas to get there.
“After reading that, I have a simple question for our friends across the aisle: If you won’t act now, with dialysis patients unable to get into town for treatment, when will you unlock the natural resources that Americans have right under their own feet? What’s it going to take?
“Clearly, this is a serious problem for people. And we have an obligation to address it. But I’m afraid the Democrats who run the Senate just want it all to go away.
“They’ve been going to great lengths to make sure it goes away. They’re cancelling hearings where they’re afraid the issue might come up. And they’re muzzling their own members — more than a dozen of whom favor a balanced solution that includes more domestic production and increased conservation. They’re telling them the same thing they’re telling the American people: ‘No, we can’t.’
“The problem we face, as everyone knows, is that the demand for oil is increasing faster than the supply. And the solution, as everyone knows, is to increase supply and lower demand. Yet this week, the Democrat Leadership in Congress is saying ‘No we can’t.’ They’re saying ‘No we can’t’ produce a single additional barrel of oil at home.
“Instead of increasing supply, they’re trying to distract us with the same blame game they roll out whenever the demands of some special interest group conflict with the will of the people.
“This time they’ve turned their attention on speculators. They say the reason gas prices have nearly doubled since the Democrats took over a year and a half ago is the speculators.
“Republicans have no problem strengthening regulation of the futures markets. But if Congress doesn’t allow any new exploration, it’s perfectly clear what the speculation about future prices will be — not good. The speculators are betting on scarcity. And the Majority is helping to prove them right.
“So here we are.
“After months of frustration, Americans are hearing from the Democrat leaders that Congress is going to do one thing about the single most vexing issue in America today. The Democrat leaders are telling the Americans people that the solution is to write up some new guidelines for energy traders, call it a day, and head home.
“And if we don’t support this timid solution, they’ll go back to the blame game again. They’ll say Republicans voted against lowering gas prices, when the fact is that not a single person in America who doesn’t sit behind a desk on the other side of the aisle thinks this particular speculation provision will do anything to lower gas prices.
“Let’s be perfectly clear: a vote for this narrow bill alone is not a serious vote about high gas prices. It’s an abdication of our responsibilities as lawmakers. And it’s an insult to the American people who are demanding every single day that we do something to ease their pain at the pump.
“This isn’t a theoretical problem. This isn’t a looming problem. It’s an urgent problem. It’s an urgent problem for families that have to struggle to put food on the table or send their kids to school. It’s an urgent problem for the dialysis patients in my state who can’t get treatment because they can’t afford to get into town to the doctor.
“And Americans are hearing the Democrat leadership’s response: ‘No we can’t.’
“The Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, my good friend from New Mexico, put it this way: He said that in his 37 years of service in the Senate, he has never seen a bigger problem met with a smaller solution. I’d put it this way: Americans are saying the house is on fire, and the Democrat Leadership is showing up at the scene with squirt guns.
“Let’s put the scope of this bill in perspective. During last year’s energy debate, on the Energy Independence and Security Act, 331 amendments were proposed. 49 amendments were agreed to. And gas prices were $3.06 a gallon. Two years before that, during debate on the Energy Policy Act, 235 amendments were proposed, 57 amendments were agreed to, and gas was selling for $2.26 a gallon.
“And now, with gas prices in some places at more than double what they were then, when Americans are clamoring for dramatic action, the Democrat majority wants us to tighten the leash on a few speculators and then head home until and do nothing else until next year.
“To drive down gas prices, we could be opening up the Outer Continental Shelf. Democrat leaders say, ‘No, we can’t.’
“To drive down gas prices, we could be lifting the ban on the development of vast oil shale deposits in western states that sit on three times the reserves of Saudi Arabia. Democrat leaders say, ‘No, we can’t.’
“To drive down gas prices, we could be approving incentives for battery-powered electric cars and trucks. Democrat leaders say, ‘No, we can’t.’
“To drive down gas prices, we could be voting to open up untapped American oil. Democrat leaders say, ‘No, we can’t.’
“To drive down gas prices, we could be voting for new clean nuclear technology. Democrat leaders say, ‘No you can’t.’
“To drive down gas prices, we could be approving new and promising coal-to-liquid technology. Democrat leaders say, ‘No, we can’t.’
“When will the Democrat Leadership listen to the 77 percent of Americans who want us to use our own domestic resources to drive down the price of gas and say ‘Yes, we can.’ When will they listen to more than a dozen of their own members and say ‘Yes, we can.’
“Americans never imagined they would be paying these prices at the pump. But if the Democrat Leadership has its way, Americans will be paying even more in the years to come.
“And when that time comes, and there’s no one else to blame, they’ll look around and see no one but themselves.
“Then Americans will know who to blame. And I can tell you this: it won’t be the speculators.”
###