On the recordFebruary 28, 2012
Well, I do. I think I will quickly yield to my good friend from Ohio and then speak again. Actually, I just met with disabled veterans who are here in town today. I told them I was going to be talking about energy, and they said the long-term effort of the Veterans' Administration to get veterans to their health care appointments is dramatically impacted by these high gas prices--just like for veterans and retirees of all kinds with the number of dollars going into their gas tanks. As they see the price of that tank of gas go up $10, maybe they decide: I am going to have to quit because that is all the money I have with me or I am going to fill up the tank and see it go to $40, $50, $60. As families look at that, as retirees look at that, as veterans look at that, they have got to be thinking as that gas tank number changes, something else they were going to do that week is something they are not going to be able to do. This has dramatic impact on families; it has dramatic impact on the way we live; it has dramatic impact on the confidence people have in our economy. If you look at any charts of gas prices going up, you see consumer confidence going down. It happens in States such as the Senator's or in States in the middle of the country such as Missouri or Senator Portman's State of Ohio. I know we have all been home. I am sure you cannot have been home and not have heard a lot about gas prices.
