The GOP had harsh words for Democrats on Capitol Hill this morning, accusing them of misunderstanding the economics of oil and stalling needed drilling initiatives.
“We ought to take a square look in the mirror,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R.-Tex.). “We need more American-made energy and Congress has resisted it. We need more supply.”
“Democratic leaders have offered no solutions, only gimmicks, from suing OPEC to windfall profit taxes,” he added.
His comments were made during a Joint Economic Committee hearing to discuss how increasing oil prices could affect the economy. The Joint Economic Committee is a Congressional Committee comprised of both House and Senate members that researches and holds hearings on economics issues
While Democrats mostly refrained from partisan criticisms, several of the Republicans opened fire on their ideological opponents, charging them with trying to regulate oil demand rather than increase supply.
“There are two factors that go into price … There’s a supply curve and a demand curve and where they meet is something called price,” explained Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kans.) sarcastically.
“We need to work on both sides of the equation to bring price down,” he added.
Republicans accused Democrats of failing to tap oil resources at home, including reserves beneath America’s land and sea, and the west’s vast quantities of potentially oil-yielding shale. They also criticized Democrats for refusing to allow controversial drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska, which they said could be relieving overseas oil imports by 1 million barrels per day.
Continued... |