[Comm-Council] FW: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Calls on President to Work to Lower Gas Prices

Tue May 22 14:11:39 PDT 2007

Lonn Hoklin

Public Affairs Manager

Oregon Department of Administrative Services

503.378.2627

503.428.2169 (cell)

________________________________

From: SHERWOOD Jodi L * Governor's Office 
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 2:11 PM
To: EXEC Net List
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Calls on President to Work to Lower Gas
Prices

Theodore R. Kulongoski

Governor

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2007

Media Contacts:           

Anna Richter Taylor 503.378.6169

Jake Weigler 503.378.6496

Kristina Edmunson 503.378.5040

Governor Calls on President to Work to Lower Gas Prices

Joins fellow Democratic governors in renewing demand first made in April
2004

Salem - Governor Ted Kulongoski today joined 17 fellow Democratic
governors in calling on President Bush to work with Congress to lower
record gas prices. Oregon currently has the sixth highest average gas
prices in the nation, according to the AAA. 

"Democratic governors have a history of standing up for consumers and
are taking action to ease the pain at the pump," the Governor wrote the
president. "We are investigating price gouging, investing in alternative
sources of energy, and rolling back oil and gas subsidies." 

The governors urged the president to endorse federal legislation
defining and penalizing gas price gouging and ordering the
Administration's agencies to pursue anti-trust or commodity violations
against companies engaged in gouging. Additionally, they called on the
President to joint their efforts to press oil companies to invest their
substantial profits in resolving refinery capacity issues that have
become an annual foil for escalating prices.

"We support corporate profitability - but not on the backs of working
families and not at the obscene levels we have seen in recent months,"
the governors wrote. "Now is the time for action. Together, we can make
America more prosperous, more secure, and less vulnerable to the pain at
the pump."

In Oregon, Governor Kulongoski continues to actively work on long-term
solutions to skyrocketing gas prices by developing alternatives to
foreign oil and encouraging conservation and efficiency. His biofuels
package (HB 2210) remains on track to pass this legislative session,
creating strong incentives for investment in development and production
of alternative fuels and establishing a renewable fuel standard for the
state. And under the Governor's sustainability initiative, approximately
a third of the state's sedan fleet has been converted to hybrid or flex
fuel vehicles that run on E-85 ethanol or compressed natural gas.

In addition, Governor Kulongoski looks forward to signing Senate Bill
118, sponsored by Attorney General Hardy Myers, granting the Governor
authority to crack down on price gouging during periods of abnormal
market disruption.

The seventeen governors who signed the letter are Govs. Kathleen
Sebelius (Kan.), Joe Manchin (W.V.),Jon Corzine (N.J.), Jennifer
Granholm (Mich.), Ed Rendell (Penn.), Bill Richardson (N.M.), Mike Beebe
(Ark.), Janet Napolitano (Ariz.), Ruth Ann Minner (Del.), Rod
Blagojevich (Ill.), Chet Culver (Iowa), Kathleen Blanco (La.), Deval
Patrick (Mass.), Ted Strickland (Ohio), Ted Kulongoski (Ore.), Phil
Bredesen (Tenn.), and Jim Doyle (Wis.).

A copy of the letter can be found at: TK

http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/pdf/letters/gas052207.pdf

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