Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a critical and commonsense strategy that is helping to lower the price of energy for working Rhode Islanders and for all Americans. In my State, and across the country, people have been struggling to keep up with energy costs. We all hear it from our constituents. They are struggling with the cost of gas, with the cost of oil, with the cost of heating their homes. Many of us campaigned on doing something about it, which is why it boggles the mind that the Republican leadership has not yet brought us a single bill to tackle lowering energy costs for consumers and, in fact, is, instead, introducing a bill to restrict one of the tools the administration has to lower energy costs. Who stands to benefit from this attempt to restrict the ability of the President to utilize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with unnecessary red tape? Certainly not consumers; certainly not people in my State who are struggling with the cost of energy. No. This bill puts oil company profits ahead of working people struggling to keep up with inflation. {time} 1900 My amendment is a simple one. It states that this bill, if it should pass, cannot restrict the ability of the President to utilize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gas prices for consumers. I have heard the other side say that there is already an exception in the bill to allow for emergencies, but that is not entirely accurate. As it is written, the exception is narrow.…”