While consumers are facing pain at the pump, Big Oil is raking in outrageous record profits and passing out multi-million dollar retirement packages. These record gasoline prices and profits are the direct result of more than five years of failed policies of the Bush Administration. Bush Republican energy policies were designed for and by special interests.
After developing their energy policy in secret, the Cheney Energy Task Force’s agenda has served the financial interests of the energy industry while consumers have suffered.Now, five years later, consumers are wondering why prices are so high while profits continue to break records. In light of these high prices, President Bush and Bush Republicans are scrambling to run away from this failed record. Their latest proposals are just more of the same. The same policies that will protect billion dollar tax breaks for Big Oil, the same failed drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and the same unnecessary environmental rollbacks. Republicans have offered sham proposals to give the appearance that they have changed their minds on energy subsidies, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fuel efficiency standards, and cracking down on price gouging, along with some inadequate proposals for consumers and on energy independence.
Democrats know that we must move the country in a new direction. It is time to stand up to Big Oil and protect consumers from price gouging and supply manipulation that is artificially driving up the price of gasoline.
It is time to end the billion dollar tax giveaways to Big Oil. Democrats are also fighting to break our dependence on foreign oil by making the real investments in alternative fuels, reducing our use of foreign oil and working to put alternative fuel vehicles on the road.
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Democrats Have a Comprehensive Approach for Relief Today and Energy Independence by 2020<clip>
Full report:
http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/pdf/ForAndByBigOil.pdfIf folk have trouble reading the .pdf and if anyone can provided advice regarding copyright, I'd happily post the full text of the report in a series of "comments."
Peace.