Coleman Puts Speculators First, Franken Offers Real Proposals To Help Minnesotans

SAINT PAUL [9/5/08] - Today in Rochester, DFL-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken outlined a plan to address our short-term energy crisis and challenged Republican Senator Norm Coleman to support three proposals that would address the energy crisis and bring down the price of gas for Minnesotans - this year.

Al Franken:

“We’ve had enough of Norm Coleman’s empty rhetoric - and more than enough of his steadfast alliance with Big Oil. Today, I’m calling for three simple things we could do to address the energy crisis and lower gas prices - not in 22 years, but this year. It’s time for a change in Washington, and for Norm Coleman to start helping Minnesotans instead of George Bush and their special interest friends.”

Franken’s three proposals:

1. Eliminate The “Speculator Tax.” Franken will stop Wall Street speculators from adding as much as $40 to the price of a barrel of oil by making commodities trading more transparent. Just yesterday, the AP reported that market speculators might be injecting “false data” into the marketplace to artificially impact prices. NOTE: Coleman voted to keep the “Speculator Tax.”
2. Free The SPR. Franken will demand that the President release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve within the next 100 days, increasing supply, lowering prices to consumers, and generating at least $5 billion in revenue.
3. Insulation For Home Heating Costs. With part of that revenue, Franken will push for a $500 million expansion of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which improves the energy efficiency of a participant’s home. WAP has been proven to cut heating bills by 31% and reduce overall household energy costs by $358 per year.

Federal Regulator: Oil Market “Ripe For Those Wanting To Illegally Manipulate The Markets.” In June 2008, CNBC reported, “Regulators are feeling heat from U.S. lawmakers to rein in what they see as excessive speculation in commodities markets, and to make it harder for traders to skirt regulations through ‘dark markets’ like ICE where there is less oversight. Acting Chairman Walter Lukken concedes that crude oil markets are ‘ripe for those wanting to illegally manipulate the markets.’” [CNBC, "Rapid Recap," 6/17/08]

Expert: Speculation Has Added As Much As $40 Per Barrel To The Price Of Oil. In June 2008 testimony, Consumer Federation of America Research Director Mark Cooper said, “Congressional studies, like that prepared by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and industry analyses have become convinced that speculation is contributing to skyrocketing energy prices – by adding as much as $30 per barrel or more. Natural gas prices have been afflicted by a speculative premium of a similar order of magnitude. Since the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations first flagged this problem two years ago, the speculative bubble in the energy complex has cost the economy more than $500 billion – i.e. half a trillion dollars. Expenditures for household energy have more than doubled in the past six years and speculation has played a significant part in that run up. In the past two years, the speculative bubble has cost consumers over $1500.” Cooper later cited a report that speculation had contributed between $30 and $40 to the price of a barrel of oil. [Senate Commerce Committee, 6/3/08]

Coleman Has Taken Almost $250,000 From The Oil And Gas Industry; More Than Any Member Of Congress In Minnesota. For his Senate races alone, Coleman has accepted $247,900 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Coleman has accepted more campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry than any other current or former Member of Congress from Minnesota. [Center for Responsive Politics]

Coleman Voted Against Cracking Down On Speculators. In July 2008, Coleman voted to filibuster a bill that, according to the Boston Globe, would “curb speculation in energy markets and reduce record oil prices.” [S. 3268, Vote 184, 7/25/08; Boston Globe, 7/26/08]

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.