GAS GUZZLING GIL GUTKNECHT
"B-log"07/18/2006
(ST. PAUL) 7/17/06 – Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht is taking advantage of the pain Minnesotans feel at the gas pump, according to Federal Election Commission documents filed by Gutknecht over the weekend.
“It’s an old cliché, but following the money isn’t difficult when it comes to figuring out who is bankrolling Gil Gutknecht’s political career,” Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez said. “Big oil and gas companies have been pouring money into Representative Gutknecht’s campaign coffers for years and he has been all too willing to make it worth their while.”
FEC documents released Sunday show that Gutknecht accepted a check for $1,000 from the Exxon Mobil political action committee on May 17, adding to the $77,300 he has accepted from oil and gas companies during the course of his congressional career.
Exxon Mobil posted more than $8 billion in earnings for the 1st quarter of 2006. The increase came on the heels of the company’s record-setting 4th quarter of 2005 in which the company made $10.71 billion in profits – more than any public company in history. [AP, 4/27/06]
While Exxon rakes in record profits, prices at the gas pump in Minnesota have increased $1.387 since June 2000 and nearly $0.81 in the last year alone. [U.S. Dept. of Energy, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html, accessed 7/17/06]
But Gutknecht claims record profits for Big Oil have no connection to rising prices at the pump.
On his website, Gutknecht said, “The recent spike in gas prices has been felt across the nation. While many blame the big oil companies, current high gas prices are the result of a number of complex problems…”
He listed a number of factors he believes are causing high gas prices – none of which included the actions of big oil and gas companies.
Last year, Gutknecht voted against a House bill that would have cracked down on oil and gas company price gouging. [HR 3402, Vote #500, 9/28/2005]
“It’s disingenuous of Representative Gutknecht to propose plans like the ‘10 by 10 Act,’ aimed at promoting alternative fuels, when he keeps taking money from corporate interests who want nothing to do with alternative fuels,” Melendez said. “His plan is 10 percent too little and 10 years too late. And besides, his rich friends at Exxon will probably never let him vote for it anyway.”