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TRUCKERS' PROTEST * USA - RIPPLE EFFECTS
* Truckers loudly call for action to rein in debilitating fuel prices
Washington,DC,USA -The Day (CONN,USA), by Bob Dart -29 April 2008: ... After driving into the nation's capital, the convoy circled through the National Mall at the base of Capitol Hill before parking at RFK Stadium. Then the drenched drivers marched over to call on Congress... They urged a moratorium on fuel prices, a halt to subsidies for big oil companies, release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and more domestic oil production, among other things... Mark Kirsch, an independent trucker from Myerstown, Pa., said members of Congress have done nothing so far to ease the crisis and needs to act now. Otherwise, they should feel the wrath of the electorate in November... ”It they're not going to get off their butts, then we need to get somebody else in there who will do something,” said Kirsch... ”We're looking at nearly $1,000 to fill a truck up,” said Jamie Barnhart, an owner-operator from Washington, D.C., who said the tank on his truck holds a little more than 200 gallons"... Participants said about 350 trucks took part in the protest, which was organized by a group called Truckers and Citizens Unite... ”We're running our trucks for zero profit,” said William Lockridge, another independent trucker from the District.“We need to go into the (strategic oil) reserve. The whole economy is in danger. When the trucks stop, the economy stops.”... - (SEE VIDEO) - (The Day - Supporters give the thumbs-up sign to truckers as they pass the Capitol in a protest of high fuel prices in Washington on Monday)* White House: No short-term fix to high fuel prices
Washington,DC,USA -Reuters, by Tabassum Zakaria -April 29, 2008: -- The White House said on Monday there was no short-term fix to record-high gasoline prices and the United States should try to increase domestic production and seek alternative fuel sources... The average U.S. retail price for gasoline jumped 9.5 cents over the past week to a new high of $3.60 a gallon, the federal Energy Information Administration said on Monday... White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said gasoline prices were "entirely too high, but I think it would be disingenuous and unfortunate for American consumers for them to be led to believe that there is a short-term fix. There is not going to be one."... The United States must try to increase domestic production and exploration in environmentally friendly ways, she said... "We are very aware of the high price of gasoline and the impact it is having on people across the country, and on businesses in particular," Perino said...* Dem hopefuls divided over fuel tax waiver - Clinton wants to suspend federal gas tax, while Obama says it would have little effect
San Francisco,CAL,USA -The San Francisco Chronicle/New York Times, by John M. Broder -April 29, 2008: -- As angry truckers encircled the Capitol in a horn-blaring caravan and consumers across the country agonized over $60 fill-ups, the issue of high fuel prices flared on the campaign trail on Monday, sharply dividing the two Democratic candidates... Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lined up with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in endorsing a plan to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline of 18.4 cents a gallon for the summer travel season. But Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton's Democratic rival, spoke out firmly against the proposal, saying it would save consumers little and do nothing to curtail oil consumption and imports... McCain has also called for a halt to purchases for the petroleum reserve and expressed support of climate change legislation, but opposes the imposition of windfall profits taxes on oil companies... All three candidates have endorsed tougher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks and diplomatic measures to pressure oil-producing nations to lower prices...
Labels: fuel cost troubles
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