CONGRESSMAN LARSON CONDEMNS PRESIDENT’S RHETORIC ON GAS PRICES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 2008

CONTACT: Emily Barocas/202-225-7295 or 202-593-1377

CONGRESSMAN LARSON CONDEMNS PRESIDENT’S RHETORIC ONGAS PRICES

Washington, DC – Today, Democrats inCongress reacted strongly to the President’s call to increase offshore drillingfor oil. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) ¸Vice Chair of the DemocraticCaucus, said:

“President Bush’sattempt to politicize the oil crisis that is wreaking havoc on average American’sability to make ends meet is uncalled for and poorly informed. Time and again we have shown that moredrilling for oil will do nothing to lower the prices at the pump for themillions of people who are suffering today. In fact, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge will notproduce a drop of oil for ten years. Andeven after waiting ten years for, the drilling won’t lower gas prices by morethan a few pennies per gallon.

“The President’sspeech was nothing but a gift to his friends at the big oil companies. And, it is these oil companies who alreadyhave rights to drill for 70% of the oil on the Outer Continental Shelf. They have leases to drill on 40 million acresof offshore land, yet they have put only 7 million acres into production. Why should we open more lands to oilexploration, when oil companies are not utilizing the lands they have? This is part of a trend of stockpiling leasesto control oil prices and this New Direction Congress can not support it.

“The President shouldkeep his focus on ways we can actually lower prices and help American families today. For seven years he has allowed speculators torun rampant in the energy markets. It istime for that to end.”

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