Posted on 04/25/2008 5:01:36 PM PDT by kindred
John Shadegg, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, believes Congress is mostly to blame for record high fuel prices in the U.S because it has been reducing and restricting access to oil and natural gas supplies.
Representative Shadegg (R-Arizona) says for politically correct reasons, Congress has locked up millions of acres of land in the western U.S., Alaska, and the Outer Continental Shelf, where there is plenty of oil to be explored. He believes Congress could suspend the gasoline tax for summer driving months, as presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain has proposed, and allow more opportunities for local exploration.
According to Shadegg, many investors who were investing in real estate two years ago are now investing in oil, which is also driving costs up. He says his Democratic colleagues who promised to implement a "common sense" plan to reduce gas prices have yet to make good on their pledge.
"They have raised the cost of our access to oil," he states bluntly. "In their pursuit of alternative fuels, they have decided that the way to do that is to increase the tax burden on all of our existing fuels -- oil, gasoline, natural gas, electricity, you name it. And if you increase the cost on the good, the price is going to go up. So it's a combination of factors -- and I think the government is at fault for many of them," Shadegg contends.
The Arizona lawmaker says the U.S. could release a quantity of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and drive the speculators out of the market. "Some of the smart investors are saying that speculation is somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of the current cost of a gallon of gasoline. Well, if it's 40 percent, that's pushing a dollar a gallon. That would make a dramatic difference for you and me and the driving public across this nation," Shadegg points out.
Congressman John Dingell (D-Michigan) recently proposed imposing a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans' consumption.
But, but, I thought that Democrat majority was going to take care of all this.
A Congressman that speaks the truth.
This WILL win elections.
Oh, yeah, that'll really work for those who have no choice but to drive to work for a living, or drive for a living.
Idiot.
[yeah, that’ll really work for those who have no choice but to drive to work for a living, or drive for a living.]
The people who vote for democrats are idiots also and they do not even realize it.
aaaah, ummm, aaaaha, ugghhh BUSHES FAULT...HALLIBURTON.....OIL COMPANIES LIED FUEL PUMPS DIED....!!!!!
[Republicans should hammer at this at every opportunity.]
I don’t know how many conservative republicans are left, though there are some.
O’Bammys tv ads here in Indiana (seen approx every 10 minutes) promise that a windfall profits tax will reduce oil prices.
Only a fool (and we have plenty of them here) would believe that approach would work.
McCain is being stupid in attacking the NC GOP. (he is defending hillary and obama not attacking them!)
The Senate leadership is non-existant
The house leadership is MIA
The RNC is busy trying to push RINOS.
we are lucky the GOP congress critters are not prostrate before pelosi.
Shadegg is not an “R”. He is an A$$!
I couldn't agree more the polititian who stands up and tells the American people the truth about why there is a supply shortage of gasoline will win votes, not lose them.
The liberal left counts of stupidity of its blind and foolish base and that is the democrat party and half of the country.
One of my sons is a long-hauler for a major outfit - the drivers are going into the hole - they are turning in their leases and heading home in droves and the OO's are parking their rigs as all they can see in front of them is a hole getting deeper every day...
The gov't better stop worrying so much about the people who let themselves get sucked into mortgages they couldn't afford and pay attention to the gas disaster and, particularly, the truckers.
95% or more of everything we buy is TRUCKED - the super markets have only a 2 day supply on hand at any time, the warehouses across the country no long store any goods - a truck comes into one bay and unloads, that load goes straight out on another truck and off to it's final destination.
If the trucks stop rolling, we are all going to be in deep sh - ah, stuff.
And it IS all politically orchestrated with an eye toward winning the election. I was living in Calif. in 79 when Carter was up for his 2nd term...and the gas "shortage" hit. I remember the lines, the prices.
And I remember friends who worked in the oil fields being temp. laid off because many active, pumping well were ordered shut down....liars, crooks, traitors all.
[if Bush had any balls,]
He would not have cowtowed to the left wing and destroyed all his support from the right wing that he left hanging in the wind.
To the liberal mind there's nothing that a good stiff tax can't fix.
[The RNC is busy trying to push RINOS.]
We conservatives really need to start a third party, the GOP is liberal now and there is not a conservative party left in America.
couldn’t we start a SECOND party first?
McCain is clearly a democrat who can’t spell. (trouble with D and R)
Third party is a losing proposition. I think we are doing the right thing now by denying money to McCain.
OMG, a Republican!! in Congress. There is a God.
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