Charles Skelton: “show-me State motorists, like all consumers, closely follow gasoline prices, and with good reason. They have experienced…”

“show-me State motorists, like all consumers, closely follow gasoline prices, and with good reason. They have experienced dramatic increases and wide fluctuations in gas prices over the past several years, spending millions of dollars more on gasoline than they had anticipated. Rural Americans, who rely heavily on transportation in going about their daily lives, are being hit particularly hard by the high cost of gasoline. This is especially true for farmers, many of whom are already operating at a loss this year. It is imperative that Congress work to address our nation's energy needs through a comprehensive and proactive strategy that makes it easier to promote alternative energy sources, to stop price gouging, to increase production by expanding refining capacity, and to rollback billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to oil companies that are making record profits. The refinery permitting bill before the House today contains scant assistance for the rural Missourians I am privileged to represent. It would not lower their energy costs nor assure our nation's energy security. Rather, it would change the permitting process for refineries and would require the President to designate closed military bases for consideration as locations for new refineries. Designating closed military bases for refineries seems to make little if any sense at all.…”