Senator Patty Murray says Democrats have a plan to combat record-high gas prices, but Republicans are blocking it.
In the party's weekly radio message, she's calling for responsible oil drilling in the 68 million acres of federal land already under lease. Democrats say the move would nearly double U.S. production.
(You can read the entire address by clicking here.)
Speaking of energy issues, Mitch McConnell has been caught lying about the environmental risks of oil rigs:
...the Washington Post on Monday quoted Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as saying, "I think people are reassured that not a drop of oil was spilled during Katrina or Rita. Those rigs in the Gulf, there was not a single incident of spillage that anyone reported."
...In May 2006, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued a report stating that as a result of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the number of pipelines damaged was 457, and the number of offshore platforms destroyed was 113, with a total of 146 oil spills recorded.
...As a result of both storms, a total volume of 17,652 barrels (or roughly three-quarters of a million gallons) of total petroleum products, of which 13,137 barrels were crude oil and condensate, was spilled from platforms, rigs and pipelines. 4,514 barrels were refined products from platforms and rigs.
