Eliot Engel: “as I mentioned before when I reserved my right to object, I think that this debate should have been going on before we…”

“as I mentioned before when I reserved my right to object, I think that this debate should have been going on before we passed the bill, not after we passed the bill. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this, but this should have been part of the debate. Mr. Speaker, there is looting going on. We know there is looting going on. You can turn on your television and see looting going on. But the real looting that is going on is the looting of the big oil companies, looting the American public, picking the pockets of the American public. It is unconscionable that gasoline prices in a matter of days have been spiked 30 to 50 cents a gallon. This is price gouging on the part of the oil companies. There is no way that the disaster in the Gulf States could have been reflected so quickly with an upswing of prices at the pump. There is no way, except for greed and price gouging. Big oil companies should stop the looting of the American people. When the price of a barrel of oil goes down, it takes a month or two to be reflected at the pump. Why, then, is it quite the opposite when disaster hits? Why is there an immediate increase in the price of gasoline? How dare the oil companies use this disaster to line their pockets. How dare the oil companies use this tragedy to get richer and to stick it to the American people. The American people demand answers and want to know why they are being forced to pay so much for gasoline.…”