Press Releases
Musgrove: Wicker's Vote to Protect Wall Street Speculators Hurts Mississippians
For Immediate Release
August 29, 2008
Contact: Adam Bozzi
(601) 592-5047
adam@musgroveforsenate.net
Jackson, MS- Governor Ronnie Musgrove today called Roger Wicker out of touch with Mississippi values following Wicker's vote to protect Wall Street speculators rather than lower gas prices.
On Friday, Wicker voted to block a bill to lower gas prices by cracking down on Wall Street speculators who are driving up the price of a barrel of oil. Cracking down on speculators could lower the prices of gas by as much as a dollar per gallon.
"Mississippians need relief," Musgrove said at a BP gas station on Highway 51 in Ridgeland. "Roger Wicker might as well have taken cash out of our wallets and mailed it to Wall Street. These speculators are profiting off our pain at the pump. We could have ended their price manipulation and had the opportunity to vote on more drilling, which I support."
Current law leaves oil markets vulnerable to manipulation. This bill would have closed loopholes that allow vast amounts of trading in crude oil futures to take place in the shadows. It would have increased transparency and accountability in commodities trading, strengthen the CFTC's (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) enforcement capacity, and close the "London Loophole" so all U.S.-based trading of American commodities is subject to American regulation.
"With every vote, Roger Wicker continues to prove that he is out of step with Mississippians on the issues that affect our lives. Whether it is Medicare or gas prices, Wicker has sided with special interests and against Mississippi's interests."