Washington - This morning, Senate Republicans obstructed legislation to crack down on unchecked speculation in the oil markets - the best chance to lower gas prices quickly - by voting to prevent the bill from advancing to a final vote. Their actions came despite the fact that the Senate Republican energy bill includes speculation provisions and that yesterday the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint against a Dutch company for manipulation of the oil market.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, a leading voice in the oil and gas prices debate, released the following statement:

"Let the record show that when the Senate was on the verge of taking the action that would give us the best chance to lower gas prices quickly, Republicans said 'No.' In doing so, they showed American people getting slammed by $4 a gallon gas that it is more important to the Republican party to give another handout to oil companies making record profits than to bring immediate relief at the pump for families. How they can go home and tell their constituents between now and November that they truly want to quickly lower gas prices is beyond me. This was our best chance, and they are the reason it isn't happening.

"Yesterday, the federal commission in charge of monitoring the oil market announced that it caught a Dutch company manipulating the market by driving up the price of oil. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the resources and authority it needs to finally clean up this activity on a broader scale. It is time for the Republican Party to get out of the way so we can provide relief to the American people."

Senator Menendez's plan for lowering gas prices, long-term transportation costs:

• Lower gas prices now - Unchecked speculation on the oil trading markets has driven oil prices higher; Senate Democrats have strong proposals to clamp down on oil speculation: http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=29918&
• Hold oil companies accountable -Senator Menendez is a lead sponsor of legislation that will spur domestic oil production by compelling big oil companies to begin utilizing the 68 million acres that they lease but thus far have not used to produce energy:
http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=300453
• Break our dependence on oil - Sen. Menendez has been a strong advocate for renewable energy and advanced alternative fuels. Recently, he helped push an amendment through the Senate that would extend renewable energy tax credits to help fight global warming and wean us off of fossil fuel:
http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=295986


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