Congresswoman pushing for $2.00/gal. gasoline

St. Paull Pioneer Press ^ | June 16, 2008 | From The Deer Stand

[From The Deer Stand]

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) thinks with some new legislation and focus on increasing our energy production drivers could be paying $2 a gallon for gasoline in the future.

Bachman said Congress could make that happen. She said legislation aimed at reducing gas prices and opening up the nation's known petroleum and natural gas reserves could help lower gas prices.

Bachmann said it is a question of supply and demand and said now that gas has reached $4.00 per gallon it is time for Congress to act.

Rep. Bachman said that if the U.S. were to open up reserves it would send a signal to markets that we are serious about increasing supplies which would prompt prices to start going down. In addition, Bachmann said the United States also could supplement new drilling by building more refineries and nuclear power plants and by extending tax incentives for alternative energy sources such as wind.

One notation from an outside observer is that since Americans have become more angered over the increasing price of gasoline, and have been vocal on a plan such as Bachman is proposing, OPEC is already meeting to increase their oil production by 200,000 barrels per day. Apparently OPEC realizes their financial loss if the United States were to get aggressive on being oil and energy independent.

Elwyn Tinklenberg, a Democrat who is challenging Bachmann for the the 6th District seat in Congress, said Bachmann is offering a simplistic view.

[21twelve]

For a long time I can’t figure out why President Bush doesn’t do this. If Clinton can rope off millions of acres of prime coal property in Utah (”stroke of the pen, sign into law...pretty cool”) - why can’t Bush do the opposite with ANWR and elsewhere?

[HereInTheHeartland]

“Those reserves are for EMERGENCIES, not cost controls.”

Exactly. They exist if the Straight of Hormuz is closed or some other like situation.

They do not exist so Buffy can spend a bit less gassing up her Escalade.

We need market based solutions to get energy prices lower. We need Alaska opened up, we need many more nuclear plants, more refineries.
We need gulags for environmentalists; they are enemies of our nation. They are economic terrorists in my opinion.

[Raycpa]

The reserves would have very little effect on the price. The market isn’t stupid. Drilling on the other hand would make a great statement

[Wings-n-Wind]

DRILL HERE..
DRILL NOW..

PAY LESS....

[RJL]

I am sick of pandering.

Rep. Michele Bachmann is the real thing. If we had a couple hundred just like her we'd be doing fine.

[TheDon]

Rep. Michele Bachmann? We need to run her for President!! At least her message is the winning message for November 2008. She must be reading my FR posts on the subject. :-)

[ml/nj]

I'd like to see $40,000 a year Congresscritters with office budgets not to exceed $500,000; and offerring or recieving a bribe considered treason. We'd all save a lot more money with that sort of a scheme than we would with $2 gas.

ML/NJ

[TheDon]

Press release

bachmann.house.gov

Michele Bachmann
Contact: Stephen Miller 202-225-2331

Bachmann on Outrageous $4 Gas
We Can Get it Back to $2

Washington, D.C., Jun 9 -

Today, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) released the following statement after the national average for a gallon of gasoline hit the record-breaking milestone of $4 a gallon:

“This is truly a grim milestone for America. These gut-wrenching prices at the pump are impacting every sector of the economy and are hurting poor and middle-class Americans the worst. The punishment at the pump needs to end – and it could end right now if Congress would only act.

“In fact, Congress’ reckless inaction is to blame for the situation in the first place. Global demand for energy has soared to record heights and yet this Congress has opposed virtually every effort to increase our energy supply. And so prices have soared to record heights as well. The ‘no-new-energy’ mantra of the new Democrat majority is costing Americans severely – prices have shot up more in the last 17 months than in well over a decade.

“Just consider: we could harvest enough energy from the shale in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah to offset all our imports from Saudi Arabia – but it’s off limits. France gets 80% of its power from clean nuclear energy – but we haven’t built a new plant since the 70’s. We had 321 refineries in 1981 – today it’s only 149. China explores for energy off the coast of Cuba – Americans just sit and watch from the Florida shores. And the list goes on....

“Americans are starving for relief and Congress holds the key to the pantry door. If Congress would just turn the lock, prices would plummet – before even a single watt is harvested. The choice is clear: either Congress embraces the tired dogma of ‘no-new-energy’ or Congress embraces change and gets gas back to $2 a gallon.”

###

http://bachmann.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=93574

[CA Conservative]

Opening the US oil reserves does nothing; it did nothing when Clinton did it. Those reserves are for EMERGENCIES, not cost controls.

I don't think she is referring to the Strategic Petroleum reserve, but rather to undeveloped domestic reserves still in the ground, such as ANWR and fields off the coast. Opening up those fields for development would have an immediate impact on prices, even though it would take years before the oil ever came out of the ground. Combined with issuing construction permits for a hundred or so nuclear plants and a couple of dozen new refineries, it would cause the prices of oil futures to plummet and cause OPEC to start pumping at capacity.

[RightWhale]

Not much truth in that either.

[Charles Bronson Forever]

My fellow Americans, if we’re gonna pay two bucks per gallon, you can bet your prayer rugs, Uncle Sam will make sure we pay for the remaining two or three some other way. Drill now, ya bastards!

[chaos_5]

I think you are confusing the strategic oil reserve with oil field reserves. In this context reserves seems to be implying all the untaped oil fields we are sitting on.

[Cobra64]

I think she said “know oil reserves,” as in drilling holes in the ground, not Strategic Oil Preserves, as in pumping oil out of salt caverns.

[Cobra64]

Depleting the Strategic Oil Preserve would supply about five minutes worth of total US consumption.

[lesser_satan]

Another liberal with a lousy excuse

And a supremely faggish name.

[Drango]

I want a pony.

[Mr_Moonlight]

sf4dubya:“Opening the US oil reserves does nothing; it did nothing when Clinton did it. Those reserves are for EMERGENCIES, not cost controls.”

Sunnyflorida: You’re joking, Right?

I reckon that sf4dubya meant the *Strategic Petroleum Reserve*, not 'reserves' within the US which are available but can't be drilled due to congressional dithering, environmentalists, and NIMBY's

Yes, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant for emergencies, not cost controls ....

[From The Deer Stand]

Rep. Michelle Bachman

[Mr_Moonlight]

I want 29 cent gas and I want my wind shield washed and oil checked too, green stamps too.

Oh, and bring me a bottle of Dr Pepper there too, son ... here's a quarter to cover its 15 cent cost, with a nice little tip for yourself ......

(WAY before *my* time, of course :)

[deport]

We had 321 refineries in 1981 – today it’s only 149.

---

Not sure what she is trying to point out here. We don’t have insufficient refining capacity as shown by the fact you don’t see rationing or lines. The current crop of refineries have been upgraded/expanded and the smaller inefficent ones shut down. Maybe this Rep can help with some of environmental rules that stiffle production/drilling/refining.