The Blame for High Oil Prices Lies at the President's Feet

FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE: April 30, 2008

The Blame for High Oil Prices Lies atthe President's Feet

WASHINGTON, DC - This week, President Bush tried toplace the blame for high oil prices right on Congress' doorstep. Well, that blame should instead be sittingdown the street a bit at the entrance to1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It is the President's own policies that havegotten us into this mess and his refusal to act that keeps making it worse.

Democrats in Congress have a plan totackle high oil and gas prices:

1. Democrats have called on President Bush to end contributions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that take 70,000 gallons of oil off the market each day.

-But, PresidentBush says he has done the cost- benefit analysis and he doesn't need to actright now.

-The StrategicPetroleum Reserve is 97% full - more than enough to fill our national securityneeds.

-If the Presidentstopped contributing to the SPRO, the price of gas would go down 5 to 24 centsper gallon.

2. Democrats tried to end subsidies to big oil companies who are earning record profits.

-174 Republicansin the House of Representatives opposed the move, including all of theRepublican Leadership.

-President Bushthreatened to veto the bill if it landed on his desk. (2/26/08)

3. Democrats tried to crack down on gas price gouging and hold OPEC accountable for oil price fixing.

-President Bushthreatened to veto both pieces of legislation. (5/23/07 and 5/22/07)

-Republicanleadership adamantly opposed the legislation.

4. Democrats passed legislation that encourages energy independence and institutes new vehicle mileage standards.

-DespiteRepublican opposition, this legislation passed both chambers of Congress andwas signed into law on December 19, 2007

President Bush made just two suggestionsto lower the price of oil.

1. The President thinks drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve will lower gas prices. But experts say that drilling in ANWR will have no immediate effect and will lower prices by a mere one cent per gallon in ten years.

2. The President thinks that we should increase the number of refineries around the country to increase supply. Good idea - luckily we are already doing just that. We have more than half a million barrels per day of new oil refining capacity currently under construction. Work on another 100,000 barrels per day of capacity will probably begin in the next year.