Over to you, San Fran Nan. Hello? Nan?
House Republicans turn the tables and put some heat on Nancy Pelosi over gas prices. Good move. Nan’s left speechless. Might even feel like running back to the couch to cuddle with Newt.
Via The Hill:
House Republican leaders on Tuesday challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to release a plan to lower gas prices that they say Democrats touted when they were in the minority.
“Two years ago this week, you stated that House Democrats had a ‘commonsense plan’ to ‘lower gas prices,’ ” the letter said. “In light of the skyrocketing gasoline prices affecting working families and every sector of our struggling economy, we are writing today to respectfully request that you reveal this ‘commonsense plan’ so we can begin work on responsible solutions to help ease this strain.”
The letter is signed by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) as well as other members of leadership: Reps. Kay Granger (R-Texas), John Carter (R-Texas), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
In a press release dated April 24, 2006, Pelosi said, “Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.” The letter cited policies put in place during the GOP control of Congress that the Speaker claimed had raised prices on American consumers to benefit oil companies.
The House GOP leaders’ letter points out that the price of gasoline has spiked $1.18 since Democrats took over in January and stands at $3.51.
“Once a nightmare scenario, $4 gasoline is now a very real possibility of becoming a summer staple,” the letter stated. “In some cities, including San Francisco and Chicago, it is already a startling reality.”
Pelosi’s office did not respond immediately for comment.
So, the cat had Pelosi’s tongue earlier today, but looks like her office cooked something up to fend off the GOP offensive. She’s turned around and passed the buck to Bush:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under fire from House Republicans for failing to contain rising gas prices, is appealing to President Bush for help.
In a letter today, the California Democrat asks Bush to direct the Justice Department to investigate oil cartel price-fixing, authorize the Federal Trade Commission to pursue and punish “price gougers,” end tax breaks for oil companies and invest the savings in renewable energy.
“Lastly, your administration must use the authority given to it by the Congress to end market manipulation,” Pelosi writes. “We cannot wait to act in the face of these price increases.”
The letters appears to be a response, of sorts, to a campaign by the House Republican Conference accusing Democrats of breaking a promise to contain gas prices. Yesterday, they were calling the increase at the pump since Democrats took control of Congress last year the “Pelosi Premium.”
Democrats say Republicans are blocking their efforts to wean America of foreign oil.
Um, who opposes drilling in ANWR?
***
Related: I read this fascinating piece in Popular Mechanics about high-tech oil rigs off the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico’s Alaminos Canyon last week. Check it out.
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Pelosi Galore doesn’t know the first thing about a) business and b) non-marxian economics.
She also doesn’t get the fact that Congress is democratically controlled.
Drill in ANWR and Build Refinery’s. The day we announce we are doing to do that the price of oil will drop faster than Bill Clinton’s pants.
If you want to see a really good campaign ad by the RNC -> Pelosi Premium and the failure of the democraps
If the govt wants to make it a little less expensive at the pump there are plenty of things we can do:
1. lower the taxes per gallon of gasoline.
2. stop demanding all different types of summer blend gasolines in different states.
3. allow drilling in Alaska, off the Gulf coast of Florida and anywhere else in the US where there may be a decent supply of oil just waiting to be found.
A friend of mine is a former oil driller. In his experience, wherever there is a continental shelf, there is oil, including off the Florida Gulf coast, the California Pacific coast and the northeast Atlantic coast. He feels that the oil companies want to pump the Middle East dry first. Can we wait that long?
We have oil just let us get to it!!!
jenmom beat me to it but I do find it pretty pathetic that they didn’t point out federal and state taxes on gas.
Siearra club and company are truly the ones to blame seeing as they are not allowing us to drill, open up new refineries, etc!
Here’s two solutions that you can put on a damn bumper sticker:
1) Get the oil from Iraq that’s owed to the American people.
2) Get the oil from Mexico that’s owed to the American people.
um since when does congress give the president authority? I thought the constitution did that.
No, Congress is controlled by Democrats. It isn’t the same thing.
jenmom,
AMEN! Although not only are there there different blends in different states, there are also different blend within some states themselves.
Uh, no, despite the Clinton Administration’s penchant for governing by decree, the Constitution actually gives lawmaking power to the Congress, i.e. the power to direct the Administration to pursue any given policy (subject to the President’s concurrence, of course, via his signature on the bill).
No, and besides, the next big producer is going to be Russia. They are still discovering huge fields, and much of the country hasn’t even been explored yet. We may as well begin developing our own unless we want to turn over the keys to the world to Putin.
What? Is this a late Aprils fool joke? Didn’t these 8 rogue agents get the memo….act, do, be like a democrat, dis your base.
So the Democrats’ “commonsense plan” is to ask a Republican president to fix things.
Ah…her answer? Blame Bush.
Spoken like a true liberal.
Question to Nancy:
While you were galavanting around Syria, why didn’t you stop by Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc., and ask the friendly cartel to lower the price per barrel of oil? I thought you had a “plan”?
It’s about time Republicans started in on this. A major part of the increase in gas prices have come after the Dems took Congress. There are reasons for that.
This is a little old, but check the link at gasbuddy for historic data.
http://www.damaverick.com/demgasprices.jpg
ok can somebody explain to me how that is going to cut the cost of my gas for my car to get to school and my job???
sounds like a bunch of bs .
I guess botox really effects the brain
I have an idea for San Fran Nan, why don’t you introduce a bill to:
1. Eliminate the oppressive federal tax on every gallon of gas
2. Allow us to drill at ANWR, or drill off shore anywhere along the US coast
3. Allow companies incentives to build new refineries with less EPA restrictions to increase production
4. Eliminate the 48 different “witches brew” of summer fuel grades mandated by EPA restrictions
Come on Nan lets see the secret Democrat master plan to release us from foreign oil dependence!
My guess it provides “We the People” an opportunity to walk, run, bicycle, or be at the mercy of big government to provide mass transit to get us from our workers paradise government block housing to our Soviet style drone like jobs. Might explain why the mean old Republicans are blocking her. At least the fascist dictator Mussolini could make the trains run on time this loser can’t even run a regular vote without having to violate House Rules. Most ethical Congress ever! Not hardly you old hag!
When the Dems took over congress gas was $2.15-.2 in my area, it is now $3.40-.6
The coincidence does not escape me.
And did not Juan McCain vote against ANWR also, when a vote to allow it would have been the one allowing the drilling?
Are not we much more energy efficent now also and hasn’t inflation in general risen by similar rate as gas in past 30-40 years? Just saying, sure it was 35 cents a gallon in the past and could be lower than the $3.50 or so now, but India and China are putting loads of demand on oil also.
What about coal to oil technologies or is coal too dirty for the liberal greens? Seems ok to stick us with ethanol and takes oodles of energy to make and also takes corn out of food production, driving up world-wide food prices.
Aren’t Euroweenies, who have access to North Sea oil, paying more than us as a result of much higher taxes? Yes, I know gasoline is much cheaper in Nigeria and Venezuela, but who the heck wants to live in either place? If the dems had their way, we’d have similar price controls on many products with resulting shortages and black markets.
First of all Nanny, the market controls the oil futures, the biggest gougers are the oil producers pumping just enough out of the ground to make a supply and demand issue.
Right Nanny, investigate and prosecute all of the brokers on wall street and where have you been while gas prices have hit all time highs. Paaathetic.
I only have one issue with the gas producers and that is profit margin, I don’t mean theirs I mean the gas retailers, I don’t have a problem with oil companies making a profit that is why their in business. The profit margin for a retailer will fluctuate between -.05 and +.10 per gallon, most the time not even paying for the power to run the pumps or lights, the retailer is left to make it’s profit of 20% to 50% profit margin for items in the store, soft drinks, cigaretts, alchol are the highest profit margins. When the gas prices go high people stop coming in and buying products in the store because their budgets no longer allow it or they cut back on their normal buying habits, just buying less, which puts the distribution system at risk especially small business owners. In Missouri their is a winter and summer blend the summer blend cost more, If your state uses this summer blend expect another large increase at the pump.
Personally I think gas prices are like housing prices where artificialy increased by the housing market in like the gas prices are artificialy being manipulated by oil producers.We are being robbed by our enemies with the exception of Canada.
Isn’t this the norm?
Finally the Rino’s show some balls.
Let’s call out the Dem Congress on everything they said they would do. Congress control the purse strings Nancy, not George.
Bush should issue an executive order that makes all gasoline in America the same and end the “special blends” that drive up prices and lead to shortages.
Then he should suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline.
Is there any way he can declare a state of emergency to allow exploration on the coasts?
I live two miles from the beach here in California. I am perfectly happy to allow exploration off the coast here, from Mexico to Alaska. The continental shelf contains tens of millions of barrels of oil.
There are also several hundred billion barrels in the Rockies, and another estimated 400 billion barrels in the north plains.
There is no excuse for the incompetence we see with the Dems in charge.
Gentlemen, the word is democrap.
Build nuclear power plants. It is the cleanest energy we have, yet environmentalists long ago adopted it as our boogey man. Even true environmentalists now want nuclear power, only the ‘lets kill capitalism’ environmentalists still adhere to the no nuke power plants credo.
Isn’t interesting how our elected officials whine about gas prices when they are in power to do something about it? Stop your whining and…
1) Lift federal restrictions (EPA) making it more desirable for oil producers to begin building and expanding refineries in the US.
2) Lift the federal ban on drilling in ANWR.
3) Lift the federal ban on drilling off shore.
4) Lift the federal taxes at the pumps.
Start behaving like representatives of an elected government!
jbh50:
You can ad one more thing…
5) Standardize on the blends. Instead of having 50 different types of “summer gas” vs. “winter gas”, how about coming up with ONE formula that will satisfy all of the EPA requirements?
I HATE Negative Nancy Pelosi. Literally hate her! She is the absolute WORST elected public official - right up there with Jimmy Carter.
Even my Democratic friends despise her.
And, (BlameAmericaLast), lessen the EPA requirements. Less regulation across the board. Big Nancy is a California/eco-terrorist who wants electric cars if she could. Let’s get rid of the nincompoops first and foremost.
At 54 cents a gallon for taxes here in Wisconsin, I agree…but why will surrendercrats never offer a break on them?
…I must be just bitter about it…
As for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (with China drilling within the exclusion zone) and no drilling in ANWAR, I find it interesting that politicians think it’s OK to drill all over western North Dakota, but not in the Gulf where rigs are all over..or in the frozen tundra of ANWR.
I guess it must not be as pristine where all those bitter gun-owners live in NoDak.
Eat dirt, save worms. I hear worms make great fuel.
I know that it is easy to blame the gas station owner and the major oil companies for the high prices of gas and diesel. The station owner must pay the market price and can not stay in business if gas sells for less than the cost to purchase.
The major oil companies often do not own the crude and I expect that they in fact own almost no oil. Who owns the crude? Foreign nations own most of the crude that is imported not the Big Oil Companies. Why should what is owned by the Big Company be sold by them at less than the market price? In a good many cases the price of crude is determined not by the producers but by Wall Street specuators.
Why are different blends sold to the consumer? The Federal EPA and State equivalent mandates that. Why are diesel powered vehicles so common overseas yet almost not available in the US. Diesel powered vehicles get much better mileage. Are they really more poluting than gasoline powered ones?
Why are food crops being used to produce gasoline additives and BIO Fuel when there is food shortages in many places in the World and even starting to show up here? I have always thought using food crops for fuel is plain CRIMINAL!!
( as an aside pardon for any spelling errors - I am a product of Public Education. Ha Ha )
You’ve waited this long Ninny, to take action, and this is all there is?
Perhaps if your actions consisted of something more concrete than hauling oil company executives before your committees to browbeat and accuse them of gouging while ignoring your own gouging taxes.
I hope the GOP starts running the commercials nationwide. Most of the posts here are obvious common sense. Common sense is almost extinct in DC.
The Chinese get Cuba’s permission to drill 50 miles off the coast of FL, and we can’t get our own gov’t to drill near them so we get the oil in our hemisphere. Imagine what would happen to the price of oil, strength of the dollar, trade deficit, and morale if we start drilling for own oil. Let the Arabs and Hugo choke on theirs.
It is my understanding that the US is buying ~ 1 mbbls/day for our strategic reserve - this increases to two(2) mbbls/day later this year - might be time to stop that for a bit.
Sources:
========
Drilling debate is over. Drilling anywhere on either coast and in Alaska is simply not acceptable. Why? I don’t know!
Wind power turbines are eyesores (ask Kennedys) and can kill the migratory birds.
Hydro power! Get serious. Any idea how it would damage the eco system! Wipe out entire group of habitats near the power plant!
Nuclear power. Do we want another 3-river or Chernobyl in our neighborhood?
Solar power is good for San Diego. What about Seatle?
Processing:
===========
No new refinery in the last 35+ years, and no one seems to have any problems:
Environmentalists are happy because no new source of pollution.
OHSA and EPA are happy because one less facility to monitor and regulate.
Politicians are happy because with higher the gas prices, more sales tax revenue is collected on every gallon of gas pumped (Do people know that they are paying 30 to 50 cents State and Federal Tax on a gallon of gas, and a sales tax on those taxes too!).
Big Business collusion:
=======================
Oil refiners are raking in billions from the current crisis and they would prefer the status quo.
I don’t understand why Detroit is in bed with Houston? They certainly know how to assemble cars capable of driving 250 miles a gallon! Could it be that those rascals were members of “Emperor’s Club VIP” and Houston is threatening to post secretly recorded videos on You Tube!
Automakers must be forced to produce Internal Combustion Engine capable of running at full 100% efficiency, and make the car safe and affordable for the ordinary Americans. No outsourcing of any work to China or any other 3rd world country permitted!
Global Warming:
===============
Forces at work to create the current energy crisis are also at work to prevent the Global Warming, if it really is occuring.
With world population ever growing and energy supply being highly controlled, I see in our future, many poor Americans huddling in bitter cold winters with nothing to warm their bodies. On top of that, even the Global Warming may not be around to provide warmth to those poor souls, thanks to Al Gore.
There is something up their sleeves with these gas prices…mark my words we will see a savior come out of the woodwork… I spend $300.00 a week in gas to run my service van. I would run to more estimates but it is getting hard to afford it. Free estimates might go by the way side shortly.
First of all, when have the Democrats had a commonsense plan for anything? That was the first clue she was lying.
Second, she made this statement when she was campaigning to elect Democrats to the House so she could become Speaker. When was the last time a liberal politician even tried to keep a campaign promise? Remember that Pelosi also promised bipartisanship, to clean up the House, and to have the most ethical congress in history. What happened to those promises?
Next time Democrats promise to lower gas prices (Pelosi), lower your taxes (Bill Clinton), or lower the cost of anything, don’t believe it! They are not sincere, and they will not even remember their campaign promises once the vote tallies are final.
Pelosi is waiting for one of those 2 rookies to occupy the WH. Once that is done, and the democrats control both Houses, declare a national emergency, and nationalize the oil industry. Isn’t that the inevitable goal, Nancy?
Madam Speaker’s memo is flawed in it’s assertion that the President has authority to do any of those things. The President’s power, as any school child taking Civics 101 will tell you, is very limited. It’s set this way in the Constitution for a reason. Remember “checks and balances”? The President cannot raise or lower anyone’s taxes or “end market manipulation”, whatever that means to her. Congress and the President must work together to do any of these things. That’s the way it’s designed. I can’t see this President vetoing a tax lowering law. It’s up to Congress to present him with one.
This entire situation was caused by Congress. We, the American citizens, are sitting on about 500 years worth of oil at 2005 consumption rates. We are the only country not actively starting new drilling in new oil fields. We haven’t built a refinery in 35+ years and now cannot produce enough gasoline to meet national demand. Thank you enviroweenies and Congress. A big huge finger to you all.
I have a simple 3 part energy plan: 1) Get government and environmentalists out of the way
2) Get government and environmentalists out of the way
3) Get government and environmentalists out of the way
Whatever intellectually dishonest scientists sold the ethanol concept should be shot as well. Burning food for energy? And confiscating our wealth to pay for it? STUPID!!! Especially when we are sitting on hundreds of years worth of oil! How utterly stupid are these people? The ONLY reason the US is not 100% energy independent is purposeful manipulation by our government. Period. End of story. From now on I think congressional energy bills should be referred to as Sodomy Bills because that is the net effect on the American people.
You ever swim/surf off the Pacific coast around Santa Barbara? If you do, you know that the oil is seeping up through the sand. I have several ruined board shorts as proof.
Like dudes, enough already! Start drilling !!!!
If someone wants a ‘commonsense’ plan to reduce gas prices consider this:
1. Each State Government (remember them, the ‘All Powers not specifically assigned to the Congress shall remain with the State’ people?) that permits a nuclear power plant to be constructed, gets an automatic removal of all Federal Gasoline Taxes and removal of all EPA constraints.
2. States and the Federal Governments grant tax credits to all Corporations involved with the construction of a nuclear plant.
3. While the nuclear plants are under construction, the Federal Government releases Strategic Petroleum Reserves to those States to increase supply.
4. States are expected to hold construction/operation costs to the approved budget. Union construction rates will be prevailing wages during actual construction. All construction projects will be Right to Work no losed Union shops will be permitted.
Let’s face it, solving the oil supply problem isn’t going to be an overnight thing. It is going to take time.
Sparky and Graysonret, you may be on to something. Once they nationalize the oil industry and set prices very low, the sheeple will be singing their praises, giving them carte blanche to nationalize healthcare and anything else they desire.
What was that line out of Star Wars that someone here quoted before? Something about this is how democracy dies with cheers and praise?
Priceless! Finally, the GOP is taking a pro-active stance and holding the Democrats accountable for their words!
Look for Pelosi & Pals to submit the most highly “nuanced” (nuance is DC-ease for a pack of lies and vagaries) response letter DC has ever seen - as soon as they can think it up.
There is oil under the ground of our own country. What are we saving it for? So those in China can drive SUVs? Drilling in Alaska=jobs, low gas prices, more driving to look at which houses are for sale–sounds like a few problems solved.
Quite a bit of this “earth” movement has more to do with restricting our individual movements than the earth. They would like to make fuel so expensive that we are forced into public transportation and public housing.
There is plenty of energy on the continent in several forms. The only thing stopping us from exploiting it is phony enviornmentalism and silly federal/state/ and local feel good laws.
And Speaker Pelosi is as silly as it gets. But the SOBs have done their jobs well and terrified a generation about phony global warming and such; we have work to do. Instead of Pandering to Pelosi Speaker Ginrich should get a job in a coal mine and do some good.
There is no price manipulation by the oil companies. The oil companies sell their products at market. I’ll admit I’m wrong when Pelosi sells her mansion to a poor person for $50.
The only way to affect gas prices is to impact the fundamentals of supply / demand. Drill at ANWR for example - or off Ted Kennedy’s place in Florida. The Dems (along with McCain) are frustrating oil production, helping to keep prices high.
Just how exactly is the President supposed to unilaterally end market manipulation by foreign countries? Almost all the imported oil in this country is outright owned by or directly controlled by a foreign country (Canda, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, etc., etc.) The current price spike is being pushed by oil market speculators. How does the President march into foreign futures market trading forums and force them to stop? Nazi Pelosi is an idiot.
He could do it though. By Executive Order open all the drillable land and sea bed to our oil companies. Open the Utah clean coal bonanza that Beelzabubba put into a national park/monument. Open up and subsidize the Green River shale deposits. Build 200 nuclear power plants. In ten years we could call our own tune. That’ll happen in 10… 9… 8… yeah, sure.
With India and China using more and more oil everyday…i’m curious, what do we all think of these cheap inexpensive products we buy from those countries now? Are they so cheap?
Not to mention we’re driving(bio-fuels) ourselves to hunger…in reality starving the inhabitants of 3rd world countries. Bio-fuels another idea that sounds good with no practical positive results…NONE! Cost of food goes up, cost of fuel goes up, lower MPG, higher cost per gallon with damage being done to the internal combustion engine when using bio-fuel. Just how do people get hooked on liberalism?
Nancy wasted no time passing the buck to President Bush. Now if the gas price doesn’t fall, or remain steady, she and the democrats will put another blame on him. The democrat party needs to change it’s name to The Blame Everybody Else Party.
but… you just don’t understand! Just because Democrat Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, and Democrat Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House, does not mean the Democratic leadership have the capability to offer a legislative solution to this crisis! Bush is still in the White House. Only when we have a Democratic triumvirate can we accomplish the needed change, and offer you the governmental nirvana you seek.
Vote for us, you’ll see!
(sarc)
We have had to replace 3 fuel pumps on our diesel generators at work because the great bio diesel gums them up. When that happens the drive shafts in them shear off. Want to take a guess how much they cost?
How about 1300 dollars each? Sure would take a lot of that CRAP to make up for it. I’m a government contractor so it really doesn’t hurt me but it’s crazy that they still try to ram it down our throats. Stay away from that crap if you can.