Donald M. Payne: “when I return to my home district, where the price of regular gas has topped $3 a gallon at many service stations, I…”

“when I return to my home district, where the price of regular gas has topped $3 a gallon at many service stations, I hear constituents tell me loud and clear that they believe that the Republican majority in Congress has led this country in a drastically wrong direction. Unfortunately, from the very beginning, the Bush administration has excluded the concerns of ordinary Americans from their energy policy debates. In fact, the secretive energy task force, headed by Vice President Cheney, deliberated behind closed doors, and, as a result, billions of dollars in subsidies were provided to big oil interests. Last fall, the Republican House rubber stamped an energy bill that even President Bush's own Energy Department predicted would raise gas prices. Almost 1 year later, the price of gas at the pump has skyrocketed. In fact, Americans are now paying an incredible 100 percent more for gas than they were when President Bush took office. Meanwhile, the incomes of middle income families have fallen every year. Mr. Speaker, I ask that we turn out those who have given us this flawed policy. ____________________”