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OPINIONS
Mark Caserta: Democrats didn't deliver on promise to cut gas prices
It was Monday, April 24, 2006. Denny Hastert was still speaker of the House of Representatives, and Republicans held the House and the Senate. Gasoline prices that week averaged $2.91 per gallon, 33 cents higher than the previous month and double the price when President Bush first took office.
The situation fueled a press release by Rep. Nancy Pelosi: "With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican rubber-stamp Congress and its failure to stand up to the Republican big oil and gas company cronies."
She announced, "Democrats have a common-sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels."
Well, over a year after taking the Senate and the House on Jan. 4, 2007, and promising to lower oil prices, the Democrats have presided over the highest oil price increase in history. Last week, gasoline prices averaged $3.94 per gallon, $1.03 higher than when now-Speaker Pelosi made her politically motivated promise.
Just when were the Democrats planning on implementing their plan?
Oil-producing countries continue to feed Americans their daily fix of crude like a dealer supplies his junkie. They understand U.S. dependency on oil and the Democrats' position on exploration.
Democrats repeatedly have blocked environmentally safe exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of Energy estimates that ANWR could allow America to produce about a million additional barrels of oil every day, which equates to 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel pumped back into the economy. Yet the Democrats continue to stand in the way.
Refining capacity is another reason for high fuel prices. There hasn't been a new refinery built in the United States for 30 years, yet Congress continues to fear the environmental lobbyists and it blocks efforts to expand capacity by building more refineries.
At a recent news conference, President Bush called upon Congress to increase domestic oil production in response to soaring gasoline prices by approving legislation allowing oil and gas drilling in ANWR.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced legislation, along with the bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that would automatically open ANWR if the price of oil tops $125 a barrel for five days.
"Americans are tired of hearing about why the cost of energy is so high. What they want to know is what we in Congress are doing to drive down prices," Murkowski said.
At Pelosi's news conference in April 2006, she stated, "All you have to do is drive down the street in your car, see the price at the pump, and you know that Americans can no longer afford George W. Bush as president and his rubber-stamp Republican Congress."
At least then people could afford to drive down the street.
Democrats continue to fail the American people in their promise to lower gas prices.
Mark Caserta is a local businessman and a Cabell County resident. He is a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.
