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Dear Friends:
As energy prices continue to soar, Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to fill up their cars at the gas station and pay the cost of cooling or heating their homes. Marylanders have been particularly hard hit, with many seeing a 72% jump in electric rates in 2007.
Drivers, especially, are feeling the squeeze. In early May, gasoline prices in Maryland jumped to an average of $3.59 for regular and $3.91 for premium. Since President Bush took office in 2001, Marylanders have experienced a 153% increase in the cost of gasoline, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
Rising energy costs have many factors, but chief among them is this nation's failure to enact a comprehensive energy strategy - one that lessens our dependence on foreign oil, increases development of renewable or alternative energy sources and rewards conservation.
Instead, we have a policy in which oil companies are making obscene profits at the expense of American consumers. In 2004 and 2005, Big Oil companies received tax breaks worth $17 billion. Last year, the five major oil companies recorded profits of more than $103 billion - that's $2 billion in profits a week. This year, BP has already reported that its profits rose by 63% compared to the first quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, the Administration has done virtually nothing to make energy more affordable for American families. Its answer to Americans affected by soaring fuel costs is to propose more tax breaks for oil companies. The Administration also continues to sock away - on a daily basis - 70,000 gallons of oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). I have written the President urging him to stop stockpiling oil when the SPR is already 97% full. Unfortunately, he continues to resist strong bipartisan calls to suspend this policy that simply adds to the worldwide demand for oil.
Congress must take the lead to bring relief to American consumers. I have co-sponsored the Consumer-First Energy Act, which would suspend the filling of the SPR, aggressively punish price gouging, and eliminate unnecessary tax breaks for oil and gas companies. Additionally, the measure would impose a 25% tax on windfall profits of major oil companies unless they invest in clean, affordable domestically produced renewable alternative fuels.
Americans are hurting as they struggle to pay rising energy costs - costs that have become more severe in the wake of the housing crisis and credit crunch. We cannot continue to be subject to global economic forces or dependent on foreign oil. For the sake of our national security - and our future - we need a strong, comprehensive energy policy that will enable us to become energy independent.
Sincerely,
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