Speaker Pelosi on Largest Ever One-Day Increase in Oil Prices

June 6, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement as the price of oil by the barrel reached $139, an $11 increase from yesterday – the largest one-day increase in history:

“With crude oil prices reaching another record high today, Democrats in Congress are fighting to reverse seven years of Bush-Cheney energy policies that have driven up the price at the pump for Americans struggling to make ends meet.

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“Democrats are working to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce gas prices, launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that creates hundreds of thousands of green jobs and helps save our planet.

“The bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, now law, includes an increase in vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon in 2020 – the first congressionally-mandated increase in more than three decades – and promotes the use of more advanced American biofuels. This legislation is a critical first step toward addressing our nation’s energy independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“In just the last few months, Congress successfully pressed the Bush Administration into investigating oil market price manipulation, passed a Farm Bill that boosts home-grown, advanced biofuels production, halted deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase oil supply in the market, and passed legislation that invests in clean, renewable, and efficient energy technologies, including tax incentives for plug-in hybrid cars, energy efficient homes and appliances.

“By July 4th, we will work to develop other innovative energy independence legislation that addresses high energy costs and continues to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and we will look into speculation in the energy futures market.”

Source: Speaker Nancy Pelosi