Bart Stupak: “I thank Mr. Rush for yielding me time. I'd like to respond to the gentleman from Texas and some of the claims he made.…”

“I thank Mr. Rush for yielding me time. I'd like to respond to the gentleman from Texas and some of the claims he made. First of all, Democrats have only been in the majority for 4 months, and we are looking for ways to end this pain that motorists are feeling every day when they fill up their car at the gas pump, and that is, to bring forth the price-gouging legislation you see before us. Now, Mr. Barton says we should not pass this for this reason or that reason. These are just excuses. He complains about the process. With all due respect, we learned the process from Mr. Barton. Last year, they brought forth a gas price bill, was introduced on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. Wednesday, May 3, 2006, we voted on it. We never saw it. This bill has been around for over a year. So let's stop the excuses. American people don't want arguments about what process. They want relief at the pump, and that's what we're doing. Lookit, today Members of the House have a very simple choice. Vote to stand up with consumers, your constituents, who are paying record gasoline prices, nationwide average, record prices, or vote to protect big oil companies' enormous profits. My bill, H.R. 1252, which has over 120 bipartisan cosponsors, would give the Federal Trade Commission the explicit authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate the price of energy.”