Political Quotes

“everyone is talking about gas prices. This morning President Bush presented the Nation with, he said, a ``plan to lower gas prices.'' A little over a year ago on June 6, 2005, energy was $2.09. I use that date because that was the date that the President of the United States signed his energy bill that he hailed would be a great improvement for energy and energy prices here in America. $2.09. Today in Chicago it stands on average a little over $3 in the Chicago area. Over a little less than a year ago when the President signed his energy bill, the one that this Congress delivered to him, energy was $2.09 a gallon. Today in Chicago gas is $3.32 a gallon. In the year in which we debated the energy bill, the oil and gas interests spent $86 million lobbying this Congress and got $14.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies. They spent $86 million lobbying the House of the American people, and they got a $14.5 billion gift. You cannot get that type of return on Wall Street. That was about a 10 percent return. You cannot get a return like that on any other investment where you give $86 million to influence the people's House and get $14.5 billion of hard-earned taxpayer money, and energy is trading at $75 a barrel. I understand if you want to help the oil and gas companies at $17 a barrel, $25 a barrel to help them drill for energy.…”