Hillary Clinton Statement on All-Time High Oil Prices

Today's record setting oil prices underscore the stakes in this election. The soaring cost of oil is dragging down our economy and driving up prices on everything from gas at the pump to food on families' tables. Gas is approaching $4 a gallon in some parts of the country and the average American family is spending $2,000 more a year on their energy costs than they were in 2000. Americans need a president who is ready to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fight global warming from day one, not someone who voted to provide new special interest tax breaks and giveaways to big oil companies. My opponent voted for Dick Cheney's 2005 energy bill; I knew it would take us in the wrong direction.

For seven years, the Bush Administration has stood by as the price of oil has skyrocketed, now breaking $107 a barrel. As a result, companies like Exxon are reaping the highest profits in the history of the world-$40.6 billion in 2007 alone-and we are more dependent on foreign oil now than we were before 9/11.

As President, I will create a Strategic Energy Fund that will require big oil companies to reinvest some of their huge windfall profits in clean, renewable technologies. I will reduce the amount of oil we import by two-thirds from projected levels by 2030, or more than 10 million barrels per day. These steps are part of my overall plan to transition to a clean, green economy and create at least 5 million new green collar jobs in America.