Speaking out on gas prices

People on the streets on Washington say what they think Congress should do about high oil prices. (2:28)
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Durbin jokes on Senate’s energy action

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) reads an official Senate transcript, saying it will help people understand how the Senate is dealing with high oil prices. He says Democrats have repeatedly tried to debate energy bills, 12 times in the past two months. He says Republican continue to block debate on Democratic energy bills that would lower gas prices, increase domestic supply of gas and renewable energy, and create new jobs for Americans. (1:02)

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Death before taxes

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) says legislation increasing the taxes of companies sending jobs overseas would spur economic growth and that Republicans are unable to accept the notion that anybody’s taxes will go up, adhering to a “death before taxes” strategy. (0:35)
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Expert defends American sovereignty

Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America says that the United States is a crucial market for the oil industry and that Congress has the ability and right to regulate trade in the United States, saying those that disagree are asserting that the United States does not have national sovereignty. (0:47)
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CFTC says its overworked and understaffed

Acting Chairman Walter Lukken of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says that the volume on futures exchanges has increased 8,000 percent since the CFTC began to function 33 years ago while staffing levels have decreased by 12 percent and that additional staffing is necessary to implement new initiatives. (0:56)

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Cheney: Era of oil not ending

Vice President Dick Cheney says that the US economy relies heavily on oil and though the development of alternatives is good, the US’s dependence on oil will not diminish overnight. (0:48)
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U.S. to Saudis: "If you don't help us, why should we be helping you?"

At a press conference following the vote on the Democratic proposal to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says that "we are saying to the Saudis that 'if you don't help us, why should we be helping you?'" He says that the relationship should be a "two-way street," and that although Saudi Arabia needs U.S. military arms, the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia to "cooperate, and not strangle American consumers." (0:25)
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Saudi Arabia needs to increase oil production to lower gas prices

At a press conference following the vote on the Democratic proposal to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says that Saudi Arabia is currently producing two million barrels of oil per day below its capacity. If it increased production by one million barrels, he said, prices would likely lower by 50 cents within a month or two. (0:36)


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Energy independence doesn't mean U.S. would stop buying foreign oil

At a Brookings Institution discussion on energy challenges for the next president, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) says that energy independence doesn't mean that the U.S. "would never buy oil from Mexico, or Canada, or Saudi Arabia" but that it would never be "held hostage" for oil supplies. (0:43)
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Hofmeister: Oil price increases not controlled by oil companies

Shell Oil President John Hofmeister says that increases in oil prices are not caused by the actions of oil companies, but by increasing demand and other factors.
(0:39)
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