special report

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry, working a crowd of some 3000 people at today's open air Lake Worth Town Hall meeting on the grounds of the Palm Beach Community College, commented on last night's CBS's 60 Minutes program featuring Bob Woodward, senior editor at the Washington Post, who said Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar pledged to increase Saudi oil production and thereby lower gas prices before the 2004 election, and that this pledge has cost U.S. consumers literally billions of dollars in higher gas prices.

Kerry said: "Right now there are people all over this country who are literally going through their purses and their pocketbooks -- looking behind the sofa, under the cushions -- to find the pennies and the extra money to be able to pay the additional costs of gasoline. They are giving up choices for their kids, giving up choices for their families to pay the extra $30-$50 a week in order to be able to pay for gas. Those aren't Exxon gas prices we see ladies and gentleman, those are Halliburton prices and we deserve a break in this country. My energy plan taps into America's initiative and ingenuity to strengthen our national security, grow our economy, and protect our environment. This plan will increase and enhance domestic energy sources and provide incentives to help Americans use energy more cleanly and efficiently. When sixty-five percent of the world's oil reserves lie beneath the Persian Gulf states and only 3 percent lie beneath America, we cannot drill our way to independence. We can, however, develop and deploy clean energy technologies that will make us more efficient and allow us to capitalize on domestic and renewable sources of energy. Our plan also calls for a renewable energy trust fund to invest in the development of renewable energy which will reduce our oil dependence by more than 2 million barrels of oil a day -- about the same amount we import from the Persian Gulf. This plan will create 500,000 new jobs over the next decade and work toward producing 20 percent of US energy from renewable fuels by 2020."

Economist David Rosenberg told CNN's Lou Dobbs that "pain at the pump has wiped out more than $20 billion of the coming $40 billion in tax refund checks." On January 5, consumers paid $1.51 for an average gallon of gas. As of today -- less than three months later they're paying $1.75 per gallon, a 24 cent increase since January. According to the Wall Street Journal, "every penny increase in a gallon of gas costs consumers $1 billion a year." That's a $24 billion gas tax hike this year alone. Nationwide gas prices have risen 12% since 2000, and are expected to skyrocket upward to $1.83 a gallon this summer -- a 17% increase since Bush took office. Guy Caruso, the administrator of the Energy Information Administration told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that an average family will spend about $1,700 for gas in 2004. At today's gas prices, this means that an average family will spend over $300 more for gas than they would have if prices were at the level they were the week Bush took office.

He said the Bush Administration has neglected to enforce trade laws or respond to the unfair practices of some of our nation's largest trading partners. As President, Kerry said, he will order an immediate 120 day top to bottom review of all trade agreements to ensure that foreign nations fully comply with trade agreements they sign with the US; vigorously enforce US trade laws to ensure our workers are not victims of unfair trading practices; insist future trade agreements incorporate within them core labor standards and environmental protections; demand that other countries, such as China, do not manipulate their currencies to gain unfair trade advantages; and help any workers displaced by trade develop new skills and find new jobs.

Kerry said that over 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since President Bush took office and he pledged he will save jobs by ending the unpatriotic practice of U.S. corporations moving offshore simply to avoid paying their fair share of our nation’s tax burden and that he will propose a new jobs tax credit to encourage manufacturing companies to stay and expand in America. When a manufacturing company creates jobs above their 12 month average, the payroll taxes of the new employees will be refunded for two years.

When asked about his views on the US foreign policy Kerry noted: “Americans deserve a principled diplomacy...backed by undoubted military might...based on enlightened self-interest, not the zero-sum logic of power politics...a diplomacy that commits America to lead the world toward liberty and prosperity. A bold progressive internationalism that focuses not just on the immediate and imminent, but insidious dangers that can mount over the next years and decade, dangers that span the spectrum from the denial of democracy, to destructive weapons, endemic poverty and epidemic disease. These are not just issues of international order, but vital issues of our own national security."

As to the situation in Iraq ,Kerry said: " We must level with our citizens. Increasingly, the American people are confused about our goals there, particularly why we are going it almost alone. The president must rally the country around a clear and credible goal. The challenges are significant and the costs are high. But the stakes are too great to lose the support of the American people. The administration must make the United Nations a full partner responsible for developing Iraq's transition to a new constitution and government. We also need to renew our effort to attract international support in the form of boots on the ground to create a climate of security in Iraq. We need more troops and more people who can train Iraqi troops and assist Iraqi police."