Copyright 2000 eMediaMillWorks, Inc.
(f/k/a Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc.)
Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
June 27, 2000, Tuesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1040 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY June 27, 2000 SAM GEJDENSON REPRESENTATIVE HOUSE
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OPEC OIL PRICING. POLICIES
BODY:
GEJDENSON CALLS FOR ACTION ON RISING
GAS PRICES "This hearing could not have come at a more critical time.
With the July 4th weekend fast approaching, and gas prices surging to between
$1.80 and $2.00 per gallon in eastern Connecticut and as high as $2.50 in the
Midwest, we need some answers. But first, we ought to look back at what steps
the Republican-led Congress has taken over the past six years to head off the
energy crisis. One of the earliest initiatives was a plan to abolish the Energy
Department. But it got worse. When we take a look at where we are today as a
nation, this Congress has continued to prohibit the Administration from
increasing the standards of efficiency on automobiles. This is not simply as bad
as living with the status quo, because as Americans moved from cars to trucks,
it actually reduced our overall fleet average. And if you want to create new
energy and you want to do it quickly and efficiently, then you also ought to
realize that by increasing our fleet average by one mile per gallon, would save
12.5 million barrels of oil a year. Back in the 60s, a Corvette got 9 miles to
the gallon. Today that same car -- more powerful and faster- gets 27 miles to
the gallon. Why? Because after the last major Energy Crisis, Congress and the
Administration forced the automobile industry to increase its fuel efficiency by
increasing vehicle efficiency standards -- not as this Congress has done by
blocking the Administration from increasing vehicle efficiency standards. The
oil companies keep running to us with new mergers, arguing for increased
efficiency. But the only efficiency I see is that oil companies are now more
efficient at ripping off the American people. The first quarter profits before
the most recent increase in gasoline prices indicated that some of these
companies are increasing earnings by as much as 500 percent. And while we should
continue to question the actions of our allies in the Gulf, we also need to keep
in mind that these American corporations are taking advantage of America and
damaging this economy in a conspiracy that will hurt all of us. We are in a
difficult situation in the Northeast, the one place where I think the
Administration has not moved fast enough. Last year, in February, when we saw
escalating energy costs in New England, I predicted that the heating oil crisis
would become a gasoline crisis in the summer. And I can tell you now that come
Wintertime, we're bound to see this gas crisis turn into another heating oil
crisis. Congress must reauthorize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and create a
Northeast Heating Oil Reserve. While the House passed legislation, Senator Lott
has been sitting on it for 76 days. The reality is this: when gas prices are
high, you can choose to drive less. You may even be able to carpool. But when
heating oil prices get to a point where citizens can't afford to heat their
homes, we endanger their lives and security. As far as many of my Republican
colleagues are concerned, the solution to higher energy costs is to take away
environmental protection laws, and the standard of emissions into the
atmosphere. That is unacceptable. We need to make sure that we invest in
alternative energy that will give us clean energy and make this country
independent. We have squandered the twenty-some, years since the last major
energy crisis. Let's hope that the crisis we're facing now will move this
Congress from a routine of weekly hearings to concrete legislative action."
LOAD-DATE: July 11, 2000, Tuesday
