Posted on 07/09/2008 10:37:36 PM PDT by John Semmens
Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) suggested that Congress consider banning unnecessary automobile travel in order to help save gasoline.
“In 1974, when we faced oil prices of $12 per barrel, Congress set a national 55 mph speed limit,” Warner remembered. “Studies showed that this saved 167,000 barrels of oil per day and reduced highway fatalities by an estimated 4,000 per year. Now, with oil prices more than ten-times higher we need more drastic action.”
Under Warner’s proposal all non-essential automobile travel would be banned. A “Bureau of Travel Permits” would be established within the Department of Transportation and charged with determining what travel would qualify as “essential.”
Preliminary discussions have indicated that travel by government officials would easily qualify as essential. Most trips by private citizens are expected to be accomplished via public transit. Carpools of five or more may be granted temporary permits subject to periodic audits of the participating members.
“Considering that about 90% of the travel is likely non-essential—I mean, only a small fraction of the population has truly important reasons for going by car—we could save 18 million barrels of oil daily,” Warner calculated. “We’d also reduce highway fatalities by around 35,000 a year. Our air would be cleaner. And we’d save billions by cutting back on roadway construction.”
Warner apologized for “not getting this brilliant idea sooner,” but expressed gratitude “for the high prices that have enabled me to finally see the light.”
(Excerpt) Read more at azconservative.org ...
Read my tagline!!!!!
It is a joke.
Although Senator Warner did propose going back to a 55 MPH national speed limit as a way of saving gas, that’s all he proposed.
The rest is JOHN SEMMENS: Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News.
Come on now. This is a crisis of Congressional proportions. You've got to think outside the box.
Why doesn't Congress just stay home?
Next time you take the family out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, be sure to carry a couple of gallon jugs of oil. An extra quart will be useful for tipping the waiter.
A meathead, no matter what party this skunk called his own. What are we doing, bringing this fabulous lie up again? What a jerk!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.