Senate Democrats on Energy Prices: Throwing Gasoline on the Fire

Mitch McConnell had a great statement on the floor of the Senate this morning regarding gas prices and energy policy. As the Man from Tuscumbia points out, the problem is not that Senate Democrats have no legislation that will affect gas prices, it’s that everything they’ve proposed will raise, not lower them. And that trend is nothing new.

In a month when gas prices have hit record-highs, Democrats have proposed three things: a massive carbon tax, a tax on energy companies, and allowing trial lawyers to sue our trading partners. This isn’t an energy plan. It’s a caricature. It’s a caricature of a party that seems incapable of conceiving any solution to any problem that doesn’t involve taxation or litigation.

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For years, Democrats have blocked every effort to increase the production of American energy and help bring gas prices down. They’ve said no to states that want to allow for deep sea exploration off their shores. They’ve blocked the use of oil shale. They’ve blocked a dozen efforts to open a small portion of ANWR for environmentally-sensitive exploration, which — if it hadn’t been vetoed 13 years ago — would be providing a million barrels of oil a day to American consumers right now.

McConnell also notes an interesting correlation. The average prices of gasoline is now $4.06. When the Democrats took control of Congress, it was $2.33. If this trend continues, gas could be $6 a gallon by Christmas!