Political Quotes

“I offer a sensible amendment to improve this bill. My amendment exempts from the moratorium any significant regulatory action that is specifically aimed at limiting speculation in the oil markets. Now, think of a gas pump this way: if you look at a gas pump, it's got that nozzle like that--it is actually a holdup device. Every time our constituents pull up to the pump and say ``fill it up,'' the oil companies are saying ``stick 'em up.'' That's what's happening. So, do we really want to tell these speculators in oil markets that we don't have any interest in stopping their speculation? Do we really want this bill to do that? Because if we do that, what we are, in effect, causing is, we're giving the oil companies carte blanche to steal from our constituents. I am sure my friends on the other side of the aisle don't want that to happen, which is why I brought this amendment forward to help you. Today, financial speculators have overwhelmed commodity markets and have driven out bona fide market participants who seek to reduce the risk of their investment by making offsetting investments. Excessive speculation in oil markets has come about as a result of the financialization of commodity markets. Financialization means that the prices of a commodity like oil are being set not by supply and demand but by financial concerns and by manipulation.…”