Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune made a statement after today's "Gang of Ten" meeting. The "Gang of Ten," of which Senator Thune is an original member, is a bipartisan group of Senators committed to addressing high gas prices by expanding domestic oil production and reducing consumption.
"The energy crisis we face in this country will require bipartisan solutions," said Thune. "Today the Senate rejected the Democratic leadership's plan to address high energy prices only through tougher regulation of energy futures markets. Regulating energy futures markets does nothing to reduce our nation's dangerous overdependence on foreign sources of energy, which is the underlying cause of the high energy prices that all consumers are experiencing today."
"The members of the Gang of Ten recognize that lip service and partisan rhetoric will not bring energy costs down. The cost of fuel is having a real, devastating impact on our economy, the American workforce and on our families. Citizens can no longer afford to depend on politicians in Washington who are more intent on sacrificing the economic welfare of most Americans for a partisan political agenda that fails to address high energy prices. We need a bipartisan Energy Bill soon, and I'm confident that the "Gang of Ten" will offer a comprehensive well-balanced set of proposals that can make affordable energy once again a reality."
The Gang of Ten is finalizing a plan that will address the difficult issues of finding more domestic energy, investing in new technology to lower energy usage, developing a robust biofuels infrastructure, and establishing common sense provisions to eliminate excessive energy speculation.
This is the sixth full meeting of the Gang of 10. The bipartisan group of Senators includes Senators Thune (R-SD), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).
"The energy crisis we face in this country will require bipartisan solutions," said Thune. "Today the Senate rejected the Democratic leadership's plan to address high energy prices only through tougher regulation of energy futures markets. Regulating energy futures markets does nothing to reduce our nation's dangerous overdependence on foreign sources of energy, which is the underlying cause of the high energy prices that all consumers are experiencing today."
"The members of the Gang of Ten recognize that lip service and partisan rhetoric will not bring energy costs down. The cost of fuel is having a real, devastating impact on our economy, the American workforce and on our families. Citizens can no longer afford to depend on politicians in Washington who are more intent on sacrificing the economic welfare of most Americans for a partisan political agenda that fails to address high energy prices. We need a bipartisan Energy Bill soon, and I'm confident that the "Gang of Ten" will offer a comprehensive well-balanced set of proposals that can make affordable energy once again a reality."
The Gang of Ten is finalizing a plan that will address the difficult issues of finding more domestic energy, investing in new technology to lower energy usage, developing a robust biofuels infrastructure, and establishing common sense provisions to eliminate excessive energy speculation.
This is the sixth full meeting of the Gang of 10. The bipartisan group of Senators includes Senators Thune (R-SD), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).
