Political Quotes

“Day after day record-high oil and gasoline prices are causing immense harm to millions of American consumers and businesses. Unless something is done to make energy more affordable, these record-high prices will continue to damage our economy, increasing the prices of transportation, food, manufacturing, and everything in between. Skyrocketing energy prices are a threat to our economic and national security, and the time is long past for action. My Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has conducted four separate investigations into how our energy markets can be made to work better. Most recently, last December, we had a joint hearing with the Senate Energy Subcommittee on the role of speculation in rising energy prices. As a result of these investigations and hearings, I have been advocating a variety of measures to address the rampant speculation and lack of regulation of energy markets which have contributed to sky high energy prices: First, put a cop--a regulatory agency--back on the beat in the energy markets to prevent excessive speculation and manipulation. That includes closing the Enron loophole and the London loophole and taking other steps to strengthen market oversight. Second, develop alternatives to fossil fuels to reduce our dependence on oil.”