Marcy Kaptur: “surging gas prices at the pump surely tell us, just before Memorial Day, that something has gone wrong again with the…”

“surging gas prices at the pump surely tell us, just before Memorial Day, that something has gone wrong again with the rigged oil markets. We've seen gasoline prices in our country set all-time highs. Ohio families are paying $3.50 to $3.93 a gallon, with no end in sight. And when President Bush took office, they were paying $1.46 a gallon. In fact, when Vice President Cheney was sworn in, Halliburton's stock was worth one-fourth of what it's worth today. So we think about America's families and our consumers. They're being hurt. Car and truck sales are being hurt. Our economy is being hurt. It's all so unnecessary. When you fuel up, the chances are 7 out of 10 that the crude oil for the gasoline came from an undemocratic foreign country, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Angola, Mexico, maybe even trafficked out of Iraq, places that do not exactly love thriving democracy. Meanwhile, in oil-rich Iraq, this week, eight more American soldiers were killed in roadside bomb attacks near Baghdad. And this brings to nearly 3,400 U.S. service-member deaths in Iraq, plus additional Department of Defense civilian employees, and the death toll keeps mounting. The major oil pipeline and refinery in Iraq is now being guarded by our best, the 82nd Airborne, and sundry private contractors. They're guarding oil lines and the refinery. In fact, some of that oil has been stolen and even trafficked throughout the war.”