Crude Politics - Debbie Stabenow on Street Sweep

SHOW: STREET SWEEP 03:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

May 19, 2004 Wednesday

Transcript # 051912cb.l06

HEADLINE: Crude Politics, CNNfn

GUESTS: Debbie Stabenow

BYLINE: Christine Romans

BODY:
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNfn ANCHOR, STREET SWEEP: As we said, oil prices above $41 a barrel. Some lawmakers demand the president do something about it. They want President Bush to lower prices by releasing oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan wants President Bush to release at least a million barrel a day for a month and then maybe for another month after that if necessary. She joins us now from Capitol Hill. Welcome to the program.

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D), MICHIGAN: Hi, Christine.

ROMANS: Something needs to be done quickly and you want the president to tap that emergency reserve.

STABENOW: Yes, absolutely. First, let me say in Michigan, we're just 3 cents shy of an all-time record. This is affecting every single business, every single consumer. And unfortunately right now, what the administration is doing is making it worse. Traditionally, we've been putting about 150 barrels a day into what's called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In the last six months, they've doubled that amount. So it's about 300,000 a day. "Oil Daily," one of the industry magazines, has said that that is actually adding to the price increases that we're seeing. So, number one, we want the administration to stop taking oil out of the marketplace and number two in the short run, we want them to add oil so that we can make up some of the slack from the lack of production by OPEC.

ROMANS: But it is an emergency supply of oil. It is an emergency quantity that's meant to be drawn on in times of distress. I mean are you saying that we're in a time of distress, or-there are those who say it's a new world of terrorism now. We need to make sure we've got good quality supplies of gasoline and oil ready for us if something terrible happens.

STABENOW: Well, there's no question we need a reserve. And right now, it's about 95 percent full. We've had two other occasions when we have released oil from the reserves. One was during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. First President Bush did that and prices dropped immediately. The second time was in 2000. Again with President Clinton at that time, home heating oil dropped significantly within a week, within two weeks, we saw a substantial decrease at the pump. So it's been done before when this kind of thing has happened. And I would also say, Christine that at minimum, the administration has to stop making it worse. People from the industry say the fact that they've doubled the amount going into the reserves, taking more oil out of circulation, is exactly the wrong thing do.

ROMANS: Senator, give us a quick snapshot of what these high energy prices are doing to the businesses and the consumers in your state.

STABENOW: Well, we have everything from farmers being hit, manufacturers, folks just driving back and forth to work. I mean, everybody is hit as well as our seniors. I mean, you're talking about over $2 a gallon, which dramatically increases what it costs for folks to be able just to go to work every day. We're also a high tourism state and we want folks to be able to come to Michigan and be able to go throughout our state and not be hampered by this explosion in gas prices.

ROMANS: Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan, thank you so much for joining us today.

STABENOW: You're welcome.