"The White House has indicated that President Bush will push Saudi officials for OPEC to increase production in an effort to bring down prices for American consumers. As the largest oil producer and exporter, Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned to influence the price at the pump and the President must use his close ties to help consumers who are in desperate need of relief.

While I hope the President will return with concrete assurances that OPEC will take swift action to bring down prices, in the past the Administration's calls have been ineffective, making it all the more necessary for Congress to step in to help American consumers.

Today, the House and Senate will take action to temporarily suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, directing the Administration to take action that the President has refused to do. By Memorial Day, the House will act on a new bill that will crack down on possible price fixing by OPEC-controlled entities.

"Two years ago, the President declared in his State of the Union that the United States was 'addicted to oil.' In his seven years in office, the President's energy policies have left us more dependent on foreign sources of oil, and, as costs skyrocket, the President continues to call for increased domestic drilling while threatening to veto any legislation that would provide relief to consumers.

"The President and Congressional Republicans have spent the last seven years doling out billions of dollars in subsidies to the Big Oil companies, instead of working toward energy independence. As gas prices have hit new records all spring, the President has repeatedly rejected Democratic proposals to invest in renewable energy sources, hold OPEC accountable for its cartel-pricing activities, investigate and punish price gougers, temporarily halt filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and repeal the unnecessary subsidies to Big Oil in a time of record profits.

The President should reverse his drill and veto policies and return from his Middle East trip with firm guarantees from OPEC for increased production levels that will decrease the price at the pump for American consumers."

related report
Farm Bill to Help Families Facing High Food Prices, Help Fuel Our Nation's Energy Needs
Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after House passage of the Farm Bill, which passed the House this afternoon by a veto-proof vote of 318 to 106:

The Farm Bill is a first step in reforming Americas farm policies and a giant leap forward in helping Americans who are struggling with the high cost of groceries and gasoline.

By an overwhelming, veto-proof margin, the House approved a Farm Bill that will drastically increase nutrition initiatives that will help 38 million American families put healthy food on their table.

As Time magazine recently pointed out, this legislation will also help to reduce rising food costs by providing emergency assistance to farmers to help them get their food to market, cutting ethanol subsidies, and increasing support for food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens.

High energy prices are contributing to higher food prices and are straining family budgets, which is why the Farm Bill makes a $1 billion investment in energy independence and supports the transition to cellulosic ethanol. These efforts will help ensure that we send our energy dollars to the Midwest and across America, instead of the Middle East, and help reduce the high cost of energy.

While I would have preferred additional commodity reforms, the bill does improve upon current law. With this legislation, the New Direction Congress will help families facing high food prices and fuel our nations energy needs with American-made, renewable energy.

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