April 24, 2008 – 12:12 p.m.
With gasoline prices hitting new records, lawmakers are tossing out a grab bag of election year proposals aimed at letting voters know they feel their pain at the pump.
Several Democratic senators want to block weapons deals with oil-producing countries. And Republican presidential hopeful Sen.
The Democratic leadership got into the act Thursday. House Speaker
The frenzy in Congress over gasoline prices has become a rite of spring in recent years, as Democrats and Republicans under pressure from constituents planning summer road trips jockey for political advantage.
But as lawmakers search for practical solutions, they inevitably confront the reality that their options are severely limited.
“There’s little Congress or the president can do to reduce oil and gas prices in the short term,” said Paul Bledsoe, spokesman for the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group that advises Congress on energy matters. “This is a long-term, structural issue.”
Bledsoe said anything that could fundamentally increase supply or lower demand for petroleum products will play out “over a couple of years, not weeks or months.”
The recent price spike puts Pelosi and Reid in the same awkward position their Republican predecessors were in two years ago. In 2006, Pelosi blasted the White House and congressional leadership for rising gasoline prices and promised a “common-sense plan to help bring skyrocketing gas prices down.”
Republican leaders quickly offered a series of proposals that went nowhere and ultimately backfired, notably former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s suggestion to send Americans $100 checks, which was ridiculed by fellow Republicans.
For weeks, House Republicans have taunted the speaker for what they call the “Pelosi Premium.” Pelosi sought to turn the tables Thursday, blaming Republicans for stalling key components of the Democratic energy agenda, including legislation aimed at “price gouging,” and efforts to roll back billions of dollars in oil company tax breaks.
She said suspending additions to the petroleum reserve would inject more supply into the market, easing prices quickly and lowering retail prices by 5 cents to 10 cents a gallon.
Pelosi insisted her plan would have a bigger impact than McCain’s proposal to suspend the federal motor fuels tax this summer, arguing there is no guarantee that savings would be passed along to customers.
Meanwhile, a group of Senate Democrats urged President Bush to block $14 billion in U.S. arms sales to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members that refuse to increase production.
“The Saudis have to understand this is a two-way street,” Schumer said. “We provide them with weapons, our troops provide them with protection, and then they rake us over the coals when it comes to oil. The Saudis and Big Oil are in cahoots and this administration has coddled them both for far too long.”
Experts question whether the proposals get to the heart of high prices. “Diverting oil from the [strategic petroleum reserve], the gas tax holiday, even blackmailing oil-exporting countries — none of this is going to change things overnight,” said Tyson Slocum, an energy policy analyst at the watchdog group Public Citizen.
Bledsoe said the kinds of measures that can move prices will take time, such as the increase in vehicle fuel-economy standards that Congress enacted last year. A 10-year transition to a new fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles “will reduce fuel demand over many years,” he said.
“Most members of Congress recognize this as a structural problem,” Bledsoe said. “They know that in the short term, not a lot’s going to happen. They’ll need to coalesce around long-term solutions.”