Jim Inhofe: “there have been several speeches today--I was not here, but I got a briefing--about the high gasoline prices, and I want…”

“there have been several speeches today--I was not here, but I got a briefing--about the high gasoline prices, and I want to clarify some of the comments raised by the minority leader today and his Members in the press. The minority is so eager to blame others for high gas prices they seem to ignore the fact that they do not bother to consult the media when they have a deadline. I am more interested in reducing high gasoline prices for American families than to bluster the selfish political advantage, unlike the minority. I took the time to consider the nonpartisan experts of the Energy Information Administration and what they had to say. According to the EIA, there are three reasons leading to high gasoline prices. First, the Nation has not fully recovered from hurricane damage. Twenty percent of the domestic oil production and three refineries, representing nearly 5 percent of refining capacity, remain offline. However, offshore production is resuming and refineries are restarting. The EIA points out that the industry delayed maintenance to maximize production following the hurricanes. Today they must switch over to summer blends. Yet the focus is on the politics. The senior Senator from New York charged the refiners are purposely withholding capacity from traditionally operating at 90 percent to the current operation of 85 percent.…”