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Free Our Oil Now, Congressman Boehner!
With Gas Prices Hovering Above $4 a Gallon, Boehner Stands with Bush / Big Oil and Stands in the Way of Immediate Relief for Ohio Families
Follow the Money: Boehner Took $185,000 from the Oil & Gas Industry
[Source: OpenSecrets.org]
Washington D.C. – With gas prices above $4, Americans United for Change, the progressive issue-advocacy group that recently launched its national Bush Legacy Bus tour, blasted House Republican Leader John Boehner today for standing in the way of lower gas prices for Ohio families by voting against meaningful legislation to release 70 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve into the open market and replace it with heavy, sour oil that is tougher to refine – a move that has historically brought down gas prices and strengthened our national security.
The SPR has been tapped or suspended before by the current President Bush, President Clinton, and the first President Bush and each time oil has been released the impact on prices has been dramatic and immediate. For example, in 1991, oil prices immediately dropped by 33 percent. The 2000 exchange drove oil prices down by 19 percent. And the release by President Bush in 2005 resulted in a 9 percent drop.
“With gas prices hovering above $4 a gallon, House Republican Leader Boehner was given a chance today bring real relief now to Ohio families forced to make incredible sacrifices choosing between bills, gas, and food,” said Caren Benjamin, for Americans United for Change. "But without apology or question, Congressman Boehner chose to put his loyalty to Bush and his addiction to big oil cash ahead of relief for struggling Ohioans.
“Bush's allies in Congress like John Boehner are not offering actual solutions for the pressing problem of high energy costs. Their best answer to out-of-control oil prices is offshore drilling that wouldn’t yield a drop of new oil for 10 years. That’s not a solution – that's a distraction adcocated by the same big oil companies making record profits and that have given Rep. Boehner $185,000 dollars in contributions over the years. The new Democratic-led Congress are offering real prescripions to the pain Americans are feeling at the pump – but with Bush and his friends in Congress dutifully siding with the oil industry every step of the way, what chance do struggling families have?” added Benjamin.
