Political Quotes

“I want to get back to the issue before us, the housing crisis. I thank Senators Dodd and Shelby for working so hard to reach compromise. Here is where we are. I believe if you look at this recession many of our States are in--and there is an argument as to whether we are in this recession nationally--we know where it is coming from. The housing crisis is certainly a root cause. The speculation in the futures market, in oil, is definitely a root cause. We need to address both of those issues. That is why on this side of the aisle we had a very good package of bills to go after the speculators, to go after the manipulators of gas prices. We will keep coming back until our colleagues recognize they can talk about drilling off the coast in pristine areas all they want--the truth is, the American people will see through that. Even if we were to do it--and I think it would be a disaster for our economy because those areas are dependent on a pristine coast--you are not going to see any impact on gas prices until 2030. So what we need to do on the gas-price front is to confront the people who are speculating. We have heard numbers of up to about a third of the price of a barrel of oil being associated with the speculation. I also signed on to a letter. I thank Senator Frank Lautenberg for his leadership. Eleven of us signed it, saying to the President that he should file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against OPEC for withholding supply.”