John Hall: “Yesterday the price of oil broke another record yet again, closing at over $120. Families feel the impact of these costs…”

“Yesterday the price of oil broke another record yet again, closing at over $120. Families feel the impact of these costs every time they shell out close to $4 a gallon at the pump. In districts like mine, where commuting is a way of life, it's forcing some painful sacrifices. Our oil dependence has become the energy albatross around America's economic neck, and I'm proud that the majority in Congress has advanced ideas for short-term relief and long-term solutions. We've pushed for higher tax incentives for hybrid cars, expanded the use of renewables and efficiency, consumer protection to keep the oil companies honest, and a timeout from taking 70 million barrels a day of oil off the market and putting it into the strategic petroleum reserve, the SPR. What is the response from the President and his allies here in Congress? Let's go drill for some more oil that won't hit the markets for another 10 years, and let's keep sending more taxpayer dollars to the oil companies that are already making record profits. Most Americans would agree that we cannot wait a decade for relief and we shouldn't send anymore of their money to Big Oil. Let's stop filling the SPR to provide immediate relief and ask the President to move with us into a green, domestic, job-producing energy future.”