Michele Bachmann: “I thank Representative Latta. I appreciate your leadership on the issue of energy, and although you are a brand new…”

“I thank Representative Latta. I appreciate your leadership on the issue of energy, and although you are a brand new Member of Congress--you haven't been here for a long time--you've shown just extraordinary leadership on the issue that's probably facing more Americans today than any other, and that's the dramatic increase in the price of energy, and I know how passionate you've been on this issue. You've worked tirelessly in your district, and the people of your district in Ohio are fortunate to have you as their representative. Thank you so much for working so hard on this issue. It's one, Mr. Speaker, that I believe probably every Member of this body is hearing from their constituents over and over and over again. I know that I have as well. I had conducted a meeting with several members of my community who own gas stations, independent owners of gas stations. And one thing that they told me that broke my heart, they told me that they are seeing 30 percent fewer sales at the pump, and they're also seeing 30 percent fewer sales inside their store, and they're hurting. One gentleman told me that normally he would spend $10,000 to purchase the gasoline that would go into the ground in the holding tanks, $10,000, and that's money that's out of his pocket, sitting there in inventory until it can be sold. And he said, now, I pay $40,000 to have that inventory in the ground, and now sales are 30 percent less.”