On the recordJune 22, 2011
I stand here today to ask one simple question: How will the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 reduce the cost of gasoline for consumers? I think this is a fair question, one that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle should want the answer to. The price of gasoline is soaring in our country, and across the Nation Americans are paying too much at the pump. The average gasoline right now is $3.63, up over a dollar from a year ago. Diesel, which our struggling farmers have to pay, has gone up a dollar per gallon in the same timeframe. However, as I've stated on this floor before, the people in my district are paying much more than that. In the past, western New Yorkers have paid some of the highest gas prices in this Nation. Rising fuel prices have hurt our small businesses. They hurt our farms, and they hurt our families at a time when money is far too scarce. And that is why we must know how the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 will increase oil and gas production, and we need to know that this will decrease the cost of energy for our consumers. Under this bill, American people are supposed to put their trust in the same oil companies that have consistently betrayed that trust. They tell us we need to drill more, and they tell us they need to get more permits on an expedited basis in order to do so. Well, I agree. I agree we need to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. But I'm asking for the proper oversight.…
