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Story Archives: Vitter: Bipartisan effort only way to address gas prices


Vitter: Bipartisan effort only way to address gas prices
by Scott Rogers - posted Friday, May 30th, 2008 @ 9:41 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Bipartisan efforts in Congress will be the only way the nation can address the rising cost of gas prices U.S. Sen. David Vitter said during a visit to Monroe Thursday.

Gas prices continue to be the No. 1 concern among most Americans, Vitter said, adding that the country is facing a dire energy situation.

"The first thing we need to do in Washington is break out of the old stale debate of either this or that … either demand reduction or increase supply, either conservation and efficiency or more oil and gas. To me it's pretty simple: we're in a deep hole in regards to energy, and it's all of the above and as quickly as possible. There is no magic wand and no simple solution. We need to do all of the above and in a reasonable and aggressive way," Vitter said.

Vitter says he has been supportive of conservation efforts and more research to move toward new energy sources and technology as quickly as possible.

"As we do that, I think we also need to provide more energy from right here at home and increase supply," Vitter said.

He said gasoline prices ultimately have to do with demand and supply, so America needs to reduce demand as much as possible.

Worldwide, though, demand is increasing even more now that nations like India and China have become "an industrial giant," Vitter said.

Even with gas prices at $4-a-gallon, Vitter said that few members in Congress "connect the dots and get it" and are willing to agree on ways to increase production and reduce demand.

Vitter two weeks ago said that he had an amendment that stated if gas rose to $5-a-gallon, then the federal government would agree to allow production off coastal states. That activity would occur only if the coastal states would agree to it, and they would have absolute veto power. Also, for those states that agreed to this activity, they would "have a fair share in the revenue produced," Vitter said.

"I thought that was a pretty straight forward and reasonable proposal, but we lost that vote 44 to 51. Too many people want to say no to everything we could do to domestically. They want to say, 'Not in your backyard' because there are plenty of states that want to do this, but the majority in Congress won't let them," Vitter said.

Vitter believes the majority of the American people understand the need for more domestic production. He says citizens must become more active and vocal and demand Congress act on this matter.
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