‘We Are Here Today To Shine A Light On The Shadiness’: Sydney Kamlager-Dove Swipes At Big Oil

4 months ago

During a press conference last week, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) spoke about high gas prices and slammed big oil.

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Transcript

00:00 (applause)

00:03 Thank you and good morning, everyone.

00:05 I am Congresswoman Sydney Kamlogar-Dove,

00:07 and I proudly represent California's

00:09 37th Congressional District.

00:11 You know, we are here because of all of those young people,

00:14 all of those school-age young people

00:16 that you saw walking behind us,

00:17 who deserve a clean climate, not one suffocated by big oil.

00:23 We are here today to shine a light on the shadiness,

00:27 the corporate greed, and the electioneering going on

00:31 between big oil, Donald Trump, and his sycophants.

00:35 I serve as vice ranking member

00:36 on the House Natural Resources Committee,

00:38 where we have had no less than eight hearings

00:41 on offshore gas production in this Congress.

00:44 Why? Because Republicans are unabashedly

00:47 doing the bidding of big oil.

00:49 Trump's lackey Republicans in Congress

00:52 say they want to address high gas prices,

00:54 yet they have done absolutely nothing meaningful

00:57 to lower gas prices at the pump.

00:59 No studies, no reforms, no understanding

01:02 that drilling will not lower gas prices.

01:05 But they do want to have hearings, actually,

01:08 on how to mine and drill asteroids in outer space.

01:12 So you go figure.

01:14 Recently, the FTC uncovered evidence

01:17 that big oil colluded with OPEC to keep gas prices high

01:21 so that they could turn a bigger buck

01:23 at the expense of the American people.

01:26 So today, I joined ranking member Grahova

01:28 in sending a letter to Chair Westerman,

01:31 urging him to open an investigation

01:33 into the allegations raised by the FTC,

01:36 because Americans deserve to know

01:38 if their public lands are being used against them

01:41 to drive up their gas prices.

01:44 At every opportunity, it seems like these Republicans

01:47 are putting polluters over people.

01:50 As you've heard, to make matters worse,

01:53 this Donald Trump is currently under investigation

01:56 for promising to undo the historic progress

01:59 that Democrats and Biden have made in fighting

02:02 and addressing the climate crisis.

02:04 Give him $1 billion, and he will do what you ask.

02:08 So he's going from hush money to big oil money real quick.

02:12 I want to add that in 2022,

02:15 California passed a law banning oil drilling.

02:19 Within 32 -- it's natural hair I think I can manage,

02:22 but I'll take the umbrella.

02:24 (Laughs.)

02:25 In 2022, California passed a law banning oil drilling

02:30 within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, hospitals, et cetera.

02:35 This was a crucial step forward in California

02:38 addressing the issues around environmental justice.

02:41 And yet, this fall, California voters will have to vote

02:45 on a big oil-led ballot referendum

02:49 to reverse this decision.

02:52 It is big oil's ability to meddle in our elections

02:55 and potentially overturn progress

02:57 that Californians voted on.

03:00 I'm telling you, this is proof that they are playing for keeps

03:03 at the expense of our climate.

03:06 So we, as House Democrats, are going to continue to push back

03:10 and stand up to big oil

03:12 and hold them accountable for the climate crisis,

03:15 the climate chaos they have created.

03:19 Thank you.

03:21 And I'm now honored to turn it over to our Climate Champion

03:24 LCV Senior Vice President Tiernan Sittenfield.

‘We Are Here Today To Shine A Light On The Shadiness’: Sydney Kamlager-Dove Swipes At Big Oil

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