Watson Coleman: “I rise to speak about the rising cost of energy, at a time when Americans are suffering from gas prices that are seeing…”

“I rise to speak about the rising cost of energy, at a time when Americans are suffering from gas prices that are seeing $4 a gallon and diesel fuel is higher than that. The price of diesel fuel has gone up 65 percent from where it was a year ago. That impacts farmers, it impacts small businesses. The Medicare bill is a critical issue, but right now we need to address the impact the cost of gas and energy is having. It is having a devastating effect on folks as they sit around the dining room table trying to figure out how to make ends meet. It is getting tougher and tougher to find money for food and fuel. I wish to say up front that the principal culprit right here is our addiction and our dependence on foreign oil. My folks in Minnesota--families, farmers, and businesses--can't afford these rising costs. They are talking about commodity prices rising. On the other hand, the cost of commodity prices is rising because of the cost of oil. The cost of energy, gas, and diesel on those folks who are producing the food is having a devastating impact. My State has one of the highest housing foreclosure rates in the Nation. The State of Minnesota is always seen as being somehow outside the economic woes that affect so many. The unemployment rate is going up, not down. Record fuel costs are the final straw for a lot of folks. It should be the final straw for partisan bickering on energy that is getting us nowhere and is letting the American people down.”