John Rice Carter: “With all the issues that we deal with here in Congress, the American people deal with other issues at home. Some of…”

“With all the issues that we deal with here in Congress, the American people deal with other issues at home. Some of those issues are connected, and some of those issues they don't see the connection. But they do wonder about something. They wonder about the fact that gas prices in some places in this country January of 2009, when the President came into office, were unleaded $1.32 a gallon; mid-range, $1.42; super range, $1.52. Gas prices in April of 2011 over here somewhere in this country, looks like it could be Texas because our numbers are about there, $3.99 for regular, $4.09 for mid-range, $4.19 for the super, the ethyl, as they used to say in the old days. So since the President has taken office, something that affects every life in this country: the price of gasoline. Because whether we like it or not, whether we come up with alternative energy sources or not, whether we have new ideas about high-speed trains, subways, elevated railways, buses, the majority of the people in the United States move around by automobile; and the majority of those automobiles are driven using one of two fuels, either gasoline or diesel. Now, neither one of these charts shows a diesel price; but amazingly enough, back when I was a youngster, diesel was the cheapest fuel we had available. But diesel prices are no longer cheap. Diesel prices are competitive, usually around the mid-range price of gasoline. But there are people who have good reasons to drive diesel vehicles.…”