Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first, let me thank Senator Sanders for his leadership in this area of excessive speculation. I am going to have a word to say about that in a few minutes. Before he leaves the floor, let me say he has taken a major role in trying to get the CFTC to carry out what the law requires that they do, which is to consider excessive speculation and to put a lid on it. They are authorized to do it without any doubt. That was our intention, and they should get about it. The bill we are considering would end an egregious example of corporate welfare. Hopefully, we are going to be allowed to be on this bill and be able to defeat a filibuster and vote for cloture sometime, I understand, tomorrow. At a time when some argue the Federal debt is so out of whack that we need to cut funding for programs to provide food to hungry children or health care to our seniors, surely we ought to be able to agree the most profitable corporations in the country no longer need these enormous subsidies, but here we are. Those oil and gas subsidies have not reduced the price of oil or gas; that is obvious. The price of gas is complex. I have said many times before, and I will say it again now, the huge increase in speculation plays an important role in the price, the high price of gas.…”