Lunsford claim: “… McConnell opposes commonsense solutions that offer immediate relief to working Kentucky families struggling to make ends meet due to the current gas crisis.”
Fact: Senator McConnell is sponsoring the Gas Price Reduction act, which calls for expanded domestic production, increased conservation, and investment new technology. It has more than 40 co-sponsors and is attracting positive attention from congressional democrats.
Lunsford claim: “McConnell opposes a gas tax holiday which will offer an immediate 18 cents a gallon savings”
Fact: Senator McConnell supports a gas tax holiday now and has voted for one in the past. (Vote #80, 4/11/00, Cloture was not invoked 43-56, McConnell voted aye)
Lunsford claim: “...[McConnell] opposes closing the Enron Loophole, which has allowed rampant speculation by hedge funds to inflate oil prices $40 a barrel…”
Fact: This claim is blatantly false. Senator McConnell voted for and was a key member in passing the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (the ’08 Farm Bill), which closed the Enron Loophole. (RCV# 434, 12/14/07 H.R. 2419 passed the Senate 79-14, McConnell voted aye, RCV# 130, 5/15/08, Conference report passed the Senate 81-15, McConnell voted aye, RCV #140, 5/22/08, Senate overrode President’s veto, McConnell voted aye).
Lunsford claim: “…All the while, McConnell supports more tax breaks for Big Oil while taking $650,000 of their campaign cash and using that money to cover up his awful record…”
Fact: Senator McConnell has supported tax breaks for expanded domestic energy production, including oil and gas, clean coal, and billions dollars for conservation. In fact, he supported a $9 billion tax credit that included incentives for biodiesel, ethanol, wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy and energy efficient homes and commercial buildings.
Lunsford Claim: “[Senator] McConnell voted against releasing oil from the SPR, which could lower gas prices.”
Fact: Releasing 10% of the SPR, as the Democrats have proposed, would provide just 3.5 days worth of oil. (The SPR currently holds about 700 million barrels of oil. The U.S. uses 20 million barrels of oil a day. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.). While Senator McConnell doesn’t necessarily oppose a release from the SPR, he believes this action is like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound. He believes the Congress should pass his Gas Price Reduction Act, which offers a comprehensive solution.
Lunsford Claim: “[Senator] McConnell Also Opposed Cracking Down on Price Speculation…”
Fact: Senator McConnell’s Gas Price Reduction Act puts more cops on the beat at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to protect against abuse in the futures markets. He is addressing the issue head on. Why is Bruce Lunsford’s view that speculation – from which he is has profited handsomely – is the only cause of outrageously high gas prices?
Lunsford Claim: “[Senator] McConnell voted against protecting consumers and providing relief at the pump.”
Fact: Senator McConnell voted against the last two increases in the federal gas tax, in 1990 and 1993. Meanwhile, Bruce Lunsford gave Kentuckians an automatically increasing gas tax that has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, and supports policies that would further drive up the price of gas.
