Senate Proceeding on May 13th, 2008 :: 0:10:11 to 0:18:16
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0:06:54 to 0:10:11( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mitch McConnell

0:09:57 to 0:10:11( Edit History Discussion )

Mitch McConnell: leadership time is reserve ed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of s. 2284, which the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2284, a bill to amend the national flood insurance

0:10:11 to 0:10:20( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: act of 1968, to restore the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be one mile-an-hour hour of debate equally divided

0:10:11 to 0:18:16( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

0:10:20 to 0:10:33( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. mr. durbin: mr. president, i would like to speak to the amendment that we will vote on shortly. it relates to the cost of gasoline. i can't think

0:10:33 to 0:10:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of another issue that has been in the forefront across america for a longer period of time than the cost of gasoline. it goes beyond that, obviously, to diesel fuel and jet fuel cost costs, and we

0:10:45 to 0:10:57( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: see it every day. you drive down the road, and you watch those prices going up at the gas station. and people ask senators and congressmen, listen, you're supposed to be the bigwigs here. you're supposed

0:10:57 to 0:11:12( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to be so influential. why haven't you done something? the gas prices are killing us. and they are. whether it is a family member commuting back and forth to work in down state illinois, trying to get to

0:11:12 to 0:11:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the state capital; whether it is a trucker, over- over-the-road trucker spending almost $1,000 to fill up his rig with diesel fuel; whether it is the c.e.o. of an airline who's seen the worst first

0:11:24 to 0:11:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: quarter losses in the history of that airline because of the rise in the cost of jet fuel, it's hitting everybody. i talked to a chiropractor over the weekend, she told me her practice was dying because people

0:11:39 to 0:11:53( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: didn't want to drive 20 miles for her services. they said, we'll see you every other week instead of every week week. well, as you see, it's starting to reach into every single area. so what response

0:11:53 to 0:12:08( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: do we have from the republican side? the response is predictable and in ineffective. here's what they say: you know what we ought to do? we ought to start start drilling for oil in arctic national

0:12:08 to 0:12:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: wildlife refuge and we ought to start drilling four drilling for oil off the cost coast of america. how much oil is there? there's a lot. in the scheme of things, its a not a lot. -- it's not a lot.

0:12:23 to 0:12:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: all of the oil reserves within the control of the united states of americas america, all of them combined, come to 3% of the world's total oil reserves. 3%. each year or nation, powerful, large economy,

0:12:39 to 0:12:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: consumes 25% of all the oil produced in the world. we cannot drill our way out of this issue. we can't drill our way to lower prices. and here's something they fail to mention: if we gave approval today,

0:12:52 to 0:13:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: which i think would be a bad idea, but if we gave approval today to the republican approach, it would be years before the oil would start trickling in, years of these high prices. so what can we do

0:13:07 to 0:13:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: here and now? two things. first, we can start dealing with the price gouging of consumers. these prices are going up dramatically and at historically high rates. they're not justified by the barrel-of-oil

0:13:29 to 0:13:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: prices. the spread between the cost of a barrel of oil and the cost to the refine the product keeps gert large getting --getting larger and larger. is there any mention of consumer price gouging in the

0:13:47 to 0:13:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: republican approach? not one word. in the democratic approach, we believe price gouging should be part of this. secondly, accountability of the oil companies. these oil companies over the last seven years,

0:13:59 to 0:14:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: when george bush from oil company has been our president, have seen their profits quadruple, four times the profits they were making just a few years ago. the cost of the oil and diesel fuel has gone

0:14:13 to 0:14:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: up two and a half times. the oil company profits profits quadrupled. these companies are not only making more money than oil companies have every made ever made in the history of america, they're making

0:14:24 to 0:14:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: making more money than any business as ever made in the histy oamerica. that's a fact. we have a windfall profit tax. we say there is a limit as to how much these oil companies should be making as profits

0:14:37 to 0:14:50( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: when it causes so much damage to american families and businesses and farmers and truckers and the economy| we have a windfall profits tax. the republican approach nothing. nothing to address the oil

0:14:50 to 0:15:05( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: company profits. that's the reality. now, senator reid, the democratic majority leader, came to the floor a few minutes ago and told us what's going on with the republican strategy. so far in this session

0:15:05 to 0:15:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of congress -- we have two-year sessions of congress -- the republicans have initiated 70 filibusters. today they'll hit 71. you might say, "so what? what does that mean?" in the history of the united states

0:15:21 to 0:15:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: senate, over 200 years, the maximum number of filibusters in a two-year period of time was 57. the republicans have broken that record. what's a filibuster? a filibuster is a way to delay, slow down,

0:15:37 to 0:15:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: avoid, try to turn the page to another issue. over and over and over again, 70 times. the republicans have now set a record for obstruction and stopping progress in the united states senate, whether

0:15:51 to 0:16:03( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: it's on issues of energy, whether it's on issues of health care, helping our schools, dealing with the war in iraq; over and over and over again republican filibusters. today we'll have a vote.

0:16:03 to 0:16:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: we're going to have a vote in a short period of time, at 12:15. probably earlier, maybe earlier; i'm not sure. but in the course of that vote, we'll have a choice of whether or not we'll at least

0:16:16 to 0:16:31( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: make one step forward when it comes to dealing with gasoline prices. we cannot justify in the current situation continuing to take oil off the market where the federal government buys it and stores it.

0:16:31 to 0:16:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: it's called the strategic petroleum reserve. currently it's about 9 97% of capacity. we are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it, taking it off the market,

0:16:44 to 0:16:55( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: further putting an increase in gasoline prices. we will offer an alternative to the republican approach which will say that we'll suspend filling the strategic petroleum reserve. it might pass.

0:16:55 to 0:17:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: 51 democratic senators, incidentally, wrote a letter to the president on march 11 asking the president to suspend filling of the petroleum reserve because soline prices were out of control. the president

0:17:10 to 0:17:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: refused. now we have to pass a law to force the president to do something about these gasoline prices. i think suspending shipments to the -- pardon me -- strategic petroleum reserve is the most sensible

0:17:21 to 0:17:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: way for us to bring these prices down. i hope that we can get the cooperation of the republicans beyond that to deal with price gouging of consumers and accountability for oil companies, and not face

0:17:40 to 0:17:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: another republican filibuster when it comes to that important issue. mr. president, i yield the floor. may i ask -- if the senator from new mexico would allow me to ask unanimous consent. the following

0:17:51 to 0:18:03( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: senators be allocated five minutes each from the majority's time after the senator from new mexico: senators kennedy, dorgan, bingaman. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. domenici: just a

0:18:03 to 0:18:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: minute. do you have time on each one of them? mr. durbin: we'll alternate back and forth. and these senators have asked for five minutes each. mr. domenici: i didn't hear the five minutes. i'm

0:18:16 to 0:18:27( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: sorry. i have no objection. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from new mexico. mr. domenici: mr. president, we would like, following mine: senators hutchison, enzi, vitter, cornyn;

0:18:16 to 0:30:02( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pete Domenici