Stephanie Tubbs Jones: “Tonight I am going to focus on gas prices because gas prices have significantly affected Ohioans. I rise to express my…”

“Tonight I am going to focus on gas prices because gas prices have significantly affected Ohioans. I rise to express my disdain that gasoline prices have increased dramatically, exceeding $2 per gallon, and reached record levels in May 2004. Although recent decisions by OPEC are expected to have some impact on gas prices, the Energy Information Administration has indicated that gasoline price levels are still expected to remain high by historical standards. These high gasoline prices have significant impacts on family budgets and on the economy as a whole. We were talking about the middle-class squeeze; I am going to talk about middle-class and lower-class squeeze. Who can expect that they are going to have to pay $2 a gallon for gas? Last night in Cleveland at a gas station right around the corner from my house, a guy walked up to the window and said $40 worth of gas. Increased expenditures for gasoline reduce families' discretionary income and can result in inflation in the price of consumer goods.”