BOND: HIGH GAS PRICES ARE A TAX ON FAMILY BUDGETS
Senator Shares Solutions for Missourians Suffering from High Gas Prices
| Print This: |
|
October 16, 2008
STE. GENEVIEVE, MO – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, today shared with the Ste. Genevieve Farm Bureau solutions for Americans and Missourians suffering from the high gas price crisis.
“Every day, high gas prices are a tax on family budgets,” said Bond. “Whether you are a florist, a trucker, a teacher, a home health care provider, a rural citizen commuting to work, or a parent driving your kids to school, the high price of gasoline is increasing your costs, eroding your paycheck, and eating into your budget.”
During today’s meeting with Ste. Genevieve County Farm Bureau members and other local officials in attendance, Senator Bond emphasized that the high price of fuel is a concern for all. For farmers, farm input costs are two to three times more because of energy inflation. Costs to run trucks and tractors are higher. Major airlines and automakers are laying off thousands of workers, said Bond. Since trucks haul 70 percent of all freight in U.S., rising fuel costs have increased the cost of nearly everything, Bond explained.
Bond stressed that America must find and open up new supplies of energy to get energy prices down. Ocean drilling, nuclear, clean coal, wind, hybrid, renewable solar, plug-in, hydrogen and oil shale must all be included as options, said Bond. Excluding any of these options increases American dependence on foreign oil and places American energy security in the hands of foreign energy cartels. Unfortunately, Congress has adopted a failed energy policy over the last 30 years—which Bond dubbed, “not in my backyard,” or “NIMBY.”
Bond called for Missourians to continue to pressure Congress to take further action to lower gas prices as much as possible. While Congress allowed the historic ban on new offshore drilling to expire before recessing for the November elections, pressure must be maintained on the new Congress and new President to not reverse this action. The ban, also called a moratorium, prevented America from tapping 18 billion barrels of oil off U.S. shores. Bipartisan and comprehensive action to keep and expand new energy sources will send a resounding positive message to the troubled financial markets around the world that American energy, and the jobs that come with it, are on the way, said Bond.
“I urge you to make your voices heard,” said Bond. “If you do Congress will act. If you do not, high energy prices and OPEC will continue to eat away our standard of living.
###
