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Sen. Cornyn: Congress Should Not Leave Town Without Addressing High Gas Prices

Says Texans, and all Americans, Deserve and Demand Action from Congress

WASHINGTON—With the Senate scheduled to adjourn this Friday for a month-long recess, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said today that the Senate should not leave Washington without addressing the number one economic issue facing our country: high gas prices.

“I do not understand how in good conscience Congress could leave town for a month without having acted on the number one issue facing Americans today. Sky-high gas prices are crippling the budget of millions of families and small businesses. The American people, including my constituents in Texas, are looking to Congress and demanding answers.

“Senate Republicans have consistently presented real initiatives that would boost domestic energy production, bring down gas prices, and help to free our country from its dangerous dependence on foreign oil. To date, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has refused to even allow a vote on these initiatives. I intend to oppose his efforts to send this Congress home before we’ve done our job. He is playing politics with the pocketbooks of my constituents in Texas and Americans across the country. I continue to hope that Senator Reid will do what’s right and allow a full, fair debate on America’s energy crisis.”

Sen. Cornyn also noted that Senate Democrats this week have scheduled a series of votes on unrelated issues designed to move the Senate off the energy debate. Sen. Cornyn and his Republican colleagues have vowed to oppose these efforts and keep the Senate focused on the energy issue until the Senate takes concrete action.

“Some of these issues, such as tax extenders, are important. But it should not be an either/or between those issues and energy costs: we can and should deal with all these problems. Senate Republicans are committed to addressing other priorities after we have taken action to fight the issue Americans have deemed the most pressing economic concern of our time – high gas prices,” Sen. Cornyn said.

Background:

Earlier this month, Sen. Cornyn joined members of the House and Senate GOP leadership in accepting the signatures of more than 1.3 million Americans who have signed a petition demanding that Congress increase production of American energy to help reduce gas prices. As he has traveled throughout Texas in recent months, the number one issue for Texans he’s met with has been the burden of high gas prices.

Along with his Republican colleagues in the Senate, Sen. Cornyn is supporting the Gas Price Reduction Act, common-sense legislation that would take several steps to boost domestic energy production, bring down gas prices and help America become more energy-independent.

In addition to supporting the Gas Price Reduction Act, Sen. Cornyn and other members of the Senate Republican leadership team have attempted to pass the American Energy Production Act. This bill would have led to the estimated production of up to 24 billion new barrels of oil - enough oil to supply America for 5 years with no foreign imports. It would have also helped reduce gas prices in the near term by sending an important signal to the markets. Unfortunately, the measure was defeated by Democrats in Congress, but Sen. Cornyn remains committed to working toward increased refinery capacity in the U.S., more domestic energy production and additional alternative energy sources.

For more information on Sen. Cornyn’s efforts to reduce gas prices and bolster America’s energy security, visit http://cornyn.senate.gov/gasprices.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

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