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Washington: Corker: Public backs new oil drilling
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| Bob Corker | |
WASHINGTON — With the Senate deadlocked over a bill to tighten regulation of energy futures markets, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has let fly with some of his most partisan comments to date, calling the Democrats’ focus on oil speculators a smokescreen on real problems of energy supply and demand.
“What’s on the floor right now is a great example of unfortunately what happens around here sometimes,” he said Tuesday. “It’s a ‘ready, fire, aim’ mentality. This bill is another example of focusing on the wrong thing.”
The Democratic bill on the floor would set limits on trading in oil markets by investors and speculators, as Democrats contend that rapid increases in oil prices have been accompanied by increased trading activity on oil futures by pensions and hedge funds.
“Short-term Wall Street traders ... never intend to actually own or use the oil they buy — only to keep buying and selling and pocketing the profits,” Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. “The problem is, the American people are stuck paying the bill every time we fill up our gas tanks.”
Sen. Corker’s comments came days after a recent news conference where he said Democrats are “majoring in the minors” by not welcoming more domestic oil production from offshore drilling and oil shale exploration.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The Senate voted on Tuesday, 94-0, to limit debate on the motion to consider the oil speculation bill. The vote reduces the time for debate on the motion to 30 hours, but Democrats and Republicans appear no closer to compromising on the bill itself.
“My daughters learned about supply and demand in elementary school,” he said Thursday. “I am so frustrated at our lack of using the God-given intelligence we have as people to solve a very basic problem.”
High gas prices have dominated conversations on Capitol Hill, but the two parties remain at odds over how best to address them.
Republicans argue that the increased regulation could cause a decrease in the liquidity of oil futures, potentially driving up prices further. Instead, they have pushed their plan to study the futures market for signs of manipulation, while also opening up the outer continental shelf to drilling and investing research into plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Democrats largely have been dead-set against expanding oil drilling, which they say would take at least a decade to bear fruit while harming the environment.
“If (Sen. Reid) doesn’t bring up a bill that includes finding more American energy as well as using less energy, that will say he’s not serious about $4 gas prices,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said.
Meanwhile, the House last week rejected a Democratic-backed bill that would have forced oil companies to use millions of offshore acres they already have under lease before acquiring leases on additional land, in a use-it-or-lose-it provision.
The bill also would have expedited the leasing of 20 million acres in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and banned the foreign export of Alaskan oil.
Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., was one of a few Republicans who sided with the Democrats.
“We’re for an all-of-the-above strategy,” Rep. Wamp said. “Politically, I don’t want to gain an advantage on this issue. The Democrats are finally coming to the table, and instead of slapping them back, I want to say, ‘Come another step.’ We need this place to come together.”
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Comments
Summary:
Republicans can't vote for this bill because then their bosses on Wall Street and in the oil industry won't make as much money off us.
So they're using a STRAWMAN argument. Oil drilling.
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Oil drilling is a fake argument. The oil industry already isn't using 75% of the land they've got leases on for drilling. Opening up our shores to it isn't going to create more supply because the oil companies won't dig. And even if they do, it'll take a decade to create the SUPPLY Republicans are talking about.
The point isn't to help the oil industry and Wall Street screw everyone and make out like fatcats... just because Republicans think that's how supply and demand have to work.
The point is to stop these massively powerful, incredibly corrupt war criminals and power mongers FROM screwing everyone.
This is Enron all over again, and Republicans aren't going to vote to stop them.
No wonder real business-minded Republican voters are siding with Obama. The oil industry and futures trading aren't the ONLY games in America, just because Republicans are owned lock stock and barrel by them.
Texas can only mess over the real engine of our country's economy: California for so long before actual businessmen who aren't in Enron start to say enough is enough... for example. The same situation applies today to the economy, regulations on futures trading and the mortgage industry, anti-regulation Republicans... politics in general. And that's why Obama will win the election.
It's good overall business to have a Democrat in the White House. Comparing Clinton and both Bushes economies... it's not even a question.
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As per regulations... companies should welcome a healthy amount.
If you don't have them, your business is then at the mercy of our political system.
That's what's happened to most industries suffering from this economy. If the mortgage industry had had decent regulations, they wouldn't have messed it up for everyone else.
The minute your guy isn't in the White House... look out, if you're not "on the list" of industries the current occupant is cozy with.
And lord help you if your industry can be affected by failures in the ones that are... especially with financial incompetents like Jr or McCain in office.
Regulations aren't all bad. They even keep our children from getting autism from Mercury poisoning... go figure.
It's time we told the Anti-Regulation wing of the Republican party that yes, we do want bridges that don't collapse, we do want levees that are maintained and properly built, we want checks on those things... we want cleaner air, fish that can be eaten during pregnancy... etc.
America has been poisoned far more than she deserves by these anti-regulation Tom Delay clones. I mean... that nut used to be an exterminator, and campaigned for office in order to re-legalize DDT (Tom thought it was "safe enough")... OK, the fools in his district elected him, but that doesn't mean we should actually turn the keys to the White House over to these loonies. A Congressional seat here or there, if the locals just have to vote on god and gays... but not the White House. Not anymore. Hopefully America has learned that these ultra-conservatives are just plain old fashioned lunatics, and can't be trusted.
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