Day after day record-high oil and gasoline prices are hurting millions of American consumers and businesses.

Because the Bush Administration has proved itself unable and unwilling to make the necessary changes in its economic, foreign, and energy policies to provide affordable energy supplies to the American people, it is up to the Congress to try to jumpstart a comprehensive solution to skyrocketing energy prices.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which Senator Levin chair, has conducted four separate investigations into how our energy markets can be made to work better. As a result of these investigations and hearings, Senator Levin have advocated the following four measures:

• Put a cop back on the beat in the energy markets to ensure these markets are free from excessive speculation and manipulation;
• Stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until prices are lower;
• Develop alternatives to fossil fuels to lessen our dependence on oil; and
• Impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies that have profited from the unjustified price increases.

Senator Levin has spoken on the Senate floor about these common sense measures that can address some of the factors which have led to sky high energy prices. Click here to read Senator Levin’s full statement.

Unless something is done to make energy more affordable, the record-high prices will continue to reverberate throughout our economy, increasing the prices of transportation, food, manufacturing and everything in between. Skyrocketing energy prices are a threat to our economic and national security, and the time is long past for action.