In 2001, Ohio drivers paid $1.40 for a gallon of gas at the pump. Today, gas prices in many areas of the state top $4.00 a gallon. School districts, local governments, truckers, police departments, fire departments, and Ohio families are all feeling the sting of high gas prices.If you look at when gas prices really started to rise, you will note that it took off after Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took over Congress, Sherrod. Sen. Brown, those two are Democrats. But, I will agree with you that the people of Ohio are hurting because of it.
Earlier this summer, members of Congress offered strategies to help bring down gas prices. Unfortunately, these efforts were blocked. Oil companies claim - and their supporters in Congress back them up - that drilling - anywhere, anytime - is the cure-all for our energy woes. Yet, even energy experts working for the White House admit that drilling today would not produce oil for many years.WRONG! Charade, the House Republicans have been promoting a thing called the American Energy Act, which supports an "all of the above" approach.
More importantly, drilling today will do nothing to bring down gas prices this summer - or even this year.WRONG AGAIN! It depends on where the drilling takes place. Industry sources tell me that it might take just a few months to get new oil to market, under the right conditions.
To help communities and families in Ohio - and across the country - the President should tap into our nation's oil supply by opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That will help bring down gas prices now.WRONG! Two reasons, Mr. Brown: 1) The SPR is for "strategic" purposes, not because you don't want to drill for more oil. 2) Whatever we release from the SPR to the market, OPEC could withhold the same amount and the price doesn't change.
Congress and the White House should also hold Wall Street accountable and go after oil speculators that game the system. According to a former top official at the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission, oil speculation accounts for up to 50 percent of the price of oil per barrel.WRONG! Speculators are not responsible for the high price of gasoline. IER says "high oil prices are due to restricted supply, booming demand, and a weakening dollar. There is no hard evidence that speculators are responsible for high oil prices. If the price of oil truly were above the level that the fundamentals could support, we would see growing inventories of crude. But inventory levels show no such pattern." As usual, Democrats like Charade here would punish people who aren't responsible.
The federal government also must commit to accelerating the development of renewable and alternative energy sources. Alternative energy is not only the key to energy independence for our nation, it is an economic powerhouse that can revitalize Ohio's manufacturing sector.The American Energy Act includes all of that AND drilling too.
Big Oil would like nothing better than for our nation to continue to rely on more and more drilling. It has helped Exxon and others earn unbelievable profits. But Congress must stand up for American families and stand up to Big Oil. When Congress returns to Washington in September, I will continue to work with my colleagues on an energy policy that acts in the best interest of our nation, not the oil companies.Let me give you some numbers, Senator: 62% of Ohioans support increasing access to domestic sources of oil and natural gas. 43% strongly support that measure while only 22% are opposed. (Source)
By the way, Senator, drilling could probably actually fund all the research and development costs for alternative fuels (or a good deal of it anyway). And the government could actually do it without raising taxes on anybody. The answer can be found in this chart.
