Political Quotes

“this article is entitled ``Summers Slams Plan to Sell Oil In U.S. Reserve.'' ``Treasury Secretary's Memo Says Greenspan Agrees It Would Be a Mistake.'' The Washington by-line of the Wall Street Journal: Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers advised President Clinton in a harshly worded memo that an administration proposal to drive down energy prices by opening the government's emergency oil reserve ``would be a major and substantial policy mistake.'' This isn't the Senator from Alaska. This is our Treasury Secretary. Mr. Summers's vehement objection--which, he wrote, is shared by influential Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan . . . Indeed, today Vice President Al Gore--in his role as Democratic presidential candidate--plans to call on the administration to conduct ``test sales'' from the SPR as part of what he called ``a major policy speech . . .'' We have had a tradition of test sales from SPR under this administration. In 1991, we offered 32 million barrels; in 1996, decommissioning Weeks Island, 5 million; 1996, the recession bill, 12 million. We had swaps, appropriations in 1997. What we did is we bought high and sold low. We lost hundreds of millions of dollars on our sale. I only assume the government figured they would make up the difference on the volume. Our experience hasn't been very good. Let me get back to the other sale. Summers says it is a dangerous precedent.…”