THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER.

WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help West Virginians struggling with the high cost of gasoline Senator Jay Rockefeller is introducing legislation this week, the “Low-Income Gas Assistance Act of 2008,” that would provide immediate relief through a $100-$165 monthly stipend to low-income families who need it most. Rockefeller is also calling on Congress to pass a series of measures that would lower gas prices (averaging $3.71 a gallon in West Virginia) including increasing fuel efficiency standards, suspending deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and imposing a tax on windfall gas profits.

“I’m absolutely outraged at the spike in gas prices and the hardship it is creating on thousands of West Virginians who are struggling to make ends meet,” Rockefeller said. “I’m equally outraged that this hardship is coming at the same time that oil companies are pocketing record-breaking profits.”

“Congress must take action now to provide immediate relief. This is about people and families who are struggling – and many of them have no choice but to drive far away because that’s where the jobs are,” Rockefeller said. “A monthly check of $100-$165 will help those who are really doing everything they can to find a way to pay for the increasing costs of gas, and now food. But, we also need a long-term solution. It’s past time our country gets serious about our energy needs and begins to make the necessary investments to lower gas and energy costs for the future.”

Rockefeller’s legislation to provide temporary, immediate relief is modeled after the successful Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which has helped working families and seniors cope with home heating costs. Rockefeller’s bill would give grants to states to provide checks to people who drive 30 miles a day (or an average of 150 miles a week) for work, education, or scheduled routine health care. Eligible families who meet income guidelines similar to those in LIHEAP (in West Virginia, it’s up to 130% of poverty or $26,845 annual income for a family of four) would receive monthly checks of $100 to $165 to help cover gas costs.

For years, Senator Rockefeller has advocated a comprehensive energy policy that includes alternative energy sources, such as clean coal. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration and some in Congress have succeeded in pushing back these efforts which has contributed to America’s increasing dependence on foreign oil.

Senator Rockefeller has supported efforts to increase domestic supply through oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which could add 1.26 billion new barrels of oil in the short-term to our domestic supply. He has opposed speculative and damaging efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is expensive and even under the best of estimates would provide no real benefit for at least 10-20 years.

Rockefeller also supports holding off on additional deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Currently, it is 97% full, and there is no economic rationale for filling it to the brim with $120 barrel oil. Finally, Rockefeller has long-supported, and is advocating for, a windfall profits tax on integrated, multinational oil companies.

As Rockefeller noted, “These companies are making huge, unconscionable profits off the hard-working people in my state, and it must be stopped.”

In addition to his efforts to work against excessive oil company profits, Senator Rockefeller has sponsored legislation that would force the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate price gouging.