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Rep. Susan A. Davis

Mr. Speaker, I represent San Diego, California, which has the dishonor of being home to the highest gas prices in the Nation. The most expensive gas in San Diego was going for $4.75 a gallon, and that hurts my constituents.

My friends on the other side of the aisle believe the solution is simple--more production means lower prices. However, our Nation's oil production is the highest it has been in years. And yet so are gas prices. The conclusion? More drilling does not mean lower prices.

Independent analysis has pointed to Wall Street speculators as a culprit for the rise in gas prices. Mr. Speaker, we've heard this story before: Wall Streeters gaming markets to make big bucks at the expense of consumers.

Another culprit? There is nothing truly competing against gasoline. Prices will go down when there are alternative fuels and real transportation choices to compete with oil.

There are two things that Congress can do to relieve the pain at the pump: an innovative 21st-century approach to our energy problems, and we need to tame the speculative markets.