Jim Inhofe: “by design, politicians are largely a reactive bunch--our constituents voted us in to our offices to represent their…”

“by design, politicians are largely a reactive bunch--our constituents voted us in to our offices to represent their interests, and when they are unhappy we too are unhappy. One issue that certainly makes all constituents unhappy or even angry is high fuel prices. Therefore, policymakers at all levels of government have been struggling with ways to address high prices-- some have advocated for repealing fuel taxes, the Administration reacted in many critically important and helpful ways such as releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. After Hurricane Katrina disabled a large portion of our refining capacity and Rita threatened an additional 27.5 percent, several members have talked about the need to build new refineries. In May 2004--Before the hurricanes, and before EPACT 2005 (The Energy Policy Act of 2005), the Environment & Public Works Committee, which I chair, considered the challenges facing the refining industry. At that hearing, we learned how the industry has been struggling to balance the public's increasing demand for cheap transportation fuels while also meeting legal and regulatory requirements to produce cleaner fuels. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stated in a May 2005 speech that, ``the status of world refining capacity has become worrisome.…”