Escalating Gas Prices

ESCALATING GAS PRICES -- (House of Representatives - June 18, 2008)

(Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice to those urging change in the face of escalating gas prices. With the start of the summer season, the far-reaching effects of ever increasing gas prices is becoming more and more apparent.

It will result in a decrease in income for those in the travel industry, and that will lead to an increase in prices for dependent goods. As a result, the national economy will experience lower spending and higher prices. We are not now in a terrible economic situation, as some of our colleagues have said, but the high gas prices can lead to that.

Yet in the face of this self-perpetuating cycle, Democrats are not fighting for change here. We need to move our energy production technologies into the 21st century and build more coal, hydroelectric, and nuclear plants. We have ways to increase our domestic oil and gas production, as well as renewable and domestically available energy sources. At the same time, we must support the commercialization of our shale oil resources which hold enough oil to meet America's needs for more than two centuries.

Congress cannot afford to stand as an idle spectator as gas prices continue to erode the foundation of our economy. I urge Members to support Republican efforts to actively seek solutions to our current situation. American families deserve results and it is our responsibility to see that they get them.

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