Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to talk about a conversation I had in Baltimore this afternoon dealing with the high price of gasoline. I was talking to a station owner. I mention that because the problems of the high price of gasoline have nothing to do with the station owners. These are small business owners. They are having a difficult time with the cash flow due to the higher costs to purchase their product. They are also on the front lines, getting the wrath of consumers as they get the sticker shock when they fill up their tanks. I can tell you that consumers are hurting today every time they go to a gasoline station to fill up their gas tanks. It is affecting their household budgets. It is affecting our economy. It will become even more dire as we go into the summer months when more and more families will be deciding on their family vacations, and the cost of gasoline will very much figure into it, having a direct impact on our economy. I can tell you a group of companies that are not hurting as a result of the gasoline price increase, and they are our big oil companies. With gas prices escalating, oil profits have soared. There is a direct relationship. As our economy is suffering with higher gasoline prices, the profits of the oil companies go up. The five largest oil companies--ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips--have seen nearly $1 trillion in profits over the last 10 years.…”