Doing the Unthinkable, Giffords Stands Idly Alongside Democrat Leadership Watching Soaring Gas Prices Continue to Rise
Washington- As people in Arizona are emptying their wallets trying to afford gasoline that is rapidly nearing $4 per gallon, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08) has thrown the needs of her constituents to the wind as she voted four times this week alone against proposals to address America’s energy crisis.
- Ignoring the fact that the cost of gas has risen more than 71% since the Democrats took control of Congress, Giffords voted twice to block the House from debating any amendment aimed at reducing the cost of gas (House Roll Call 370 and 380).
- The Houston Chronicle editorialized on Sunday that “Across the nation, school districts are limiting field trips and, in some cases, canceling classes one day a week because they can’t pay the doubled cost of operating school buses,” yet Giffords opposed allowing public schools to use funding to pay for burdensome energy costs that have risen more than 50% since January 2007 (House Roll Call 378).
- Finally, just before Gabrielle Giffords headed back to her district for a long weekend, she voted again with her leadership against educating the public on the side effects of rising gas prices (House Roll Call 385).
“Gabrielle Giffords’ unconscionable actions this week show that she has become part of the problem in Washington – and would rather be a lapdog to her party leadership than provide her constituents with much-needed relief at the pump,” said NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain. “The voters in Arizona sent Gabrielle Giffords to Washington to help fix their problems, not to make them worse. Giffords’ votes this week are evidence that she is out of touch with the needs of her constituents.”
Since coming to Congress, Gabrielle Giffords has joined the 86 percent of Democrats who have built a record of hampering all efforts to increase the production of American-made oil and gas. As Sunday’s Lexington Herald-Leader pointed out, because of Gabrielle Giffords and the Democrats’ inaction on energy issues, low-income families are being hit the hardest as gas prices continue to soar:
“When the economy takes a tumble, the poor are often the first to feel the pain…. ‘The economy is affecting the low- to moderate-income individuals a great deal more than it is anybody else,’ said Johnny Cantrell, chief executive officer of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Kentucky…. So higher food and gas prices reduce people’s ability to cover other expenses, such as utilities and clothing. …folks will let those payments slide because they have a more pressing need: putting food on the table.” (Lexington Herald-Leader, 6/1/08)
Gabrielle Giffords and her Democrat colleagues have failed to bring forward any proposals to address America’s energy crisis, and now they’re obstructing every other member of Congress from trying to lower gas prices as well. How much longer will voters in Arizona have to bear the burden of Gabrielle Giffords’ broken promises and failed policies?
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