For Immediate Release November 4, 1999

US Senator Charles E. Schumer released the following statement regarding the epidemic of gun violence and the need to enact meaningful gun control legislation:
Not so long ago a gun wielding mass killer appeared on the scene maybe once every few years. They were flukes out of the blue.

What was once rare is now commonplace. What once happened every few years, then every few months, then every few weeks, now happens every few days. The violence that once occurred in only urban neighborhoods now occurs anywhere, anytime.

Places that we thought were havens against violence, are no longer safe. We thought schools were safe. They are not. We thought the workplace was safe. It is not. We thought a childcare center was safe. It is not. We thought our Capitol was safe. It is not.

Last year parents worried that their children weren't safe at their school; this year children worry that their parents are not safe at their jobs. It used to be that being a cop or firefighter was considered a dangerous job. Now, because of the intersection of hate, insanity and guns, no workplace is safe. Now, because anyone with a grudge can get a gun, the office is nearly as dangerous as the streets.
What a disappointment it must be for parents and children to know that something that could help make their world safer -- reasonable gun control -- is in the hands of a Congress that trembles under the thumb of the NRA.

The killer in Hawaii owned eighteen guns. We don't know yet how many guns yesterday's killer had in his stockpile. But we do know this. It is obvious to everyone we have a gun crisis on our hands. It is obvious that guns are too readily available to the wrong people. And we have a crisis here in Washington because we legislate out of fear of the gun lobby.

There is no justification to vote against a measure as modest as the gun show loophole except for a raw, naked, political calculation borne out of fear of the NRA. Here is our latest orders from the NRA. This is an E-mail that the NRA sent to Republican members in the House and Senate, and I suppose to a few Democrats as well. These are our marching orders. We are to oppose closing the gunshow loophole for two indefensible reasons.

Number one the NRA objects to language that allows a sale to be delayed for up to 72 hours only in cases where the instacheck shows that the buyer has been arrested for a felony crime and where the disposition of the case is in doubt. Even when the instacheck says -- wait, this guy was arrested for armed robbery, the NRA says 3 days is too long to confirm if he was convicted.
Frankly, I'm amazed that the NRA had such hubris to put objections like this in a public letter to congressional allies.

Number two, they oppose giving ATF one day to destroy each individual record of a gun purchase. One day, according to the NRA, is the camels nose under the tent of gun registration.
These reasons don't pass the smell test. But I've been here long enough to smell a sellout.
What is sad is that this Congress is in danger of becoming irrelevant. We are on the verge of ceding responsibility from the legislative branch to the judicial branch because we cannot stand up to gun lobby. It is ironic and fitting that our inability to act in any way that satisfies the American people has spawned a series of lawsuits that could ultimately impose penalties on the gun industry far more severe than even the most ardent gun control supporters in Congress hope to achieve.

My prayers are with the families of those who were gunned down yesterday in Seattle and Tuesday in Hawaii. They are looking to us for answers. I pray also that we in Congress find the strength to break the binds of the National Rifle Association and begin to address the gun crisis in America.
Yesterday's mass shooting proves that each day we wait is a day that could end in carnage. Our actions will determine whether Congress is relevant or an afterthought.

Text of letter from Senators Charles Schumer and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) to President Clinton follows:

November 4, 1999

Schumer blamed the rising cost of gas and home heating oil on a series of production cutbacks by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that culminated last March with an agreement to cut supply by 1.7 million barrels per day. At an OPEC meeting last week, OPEC ministers reaffirmed their production quotas thereby ensuring that world oil demand will exceed world supply by 3 million barrels per day. Since March 1, 1999, the price of a barrel of crude oil has more than doubled from about $12.23 to $24.69. As the price of oil increases, the costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher gas and heating oil prices.

In a letter to the President, Schumer urged the Administration to release several hundred thousand barrels a day from America's 571 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to stabilize and reduce prices. The United States keeps a large reserve of oil on hand to use in cases of war or economic turmoil.

"This continuation of OPEC's supply quota policy will have a severely detrimental effect on the U.S. economy in the coming months, and I believe requires immediate action. Specifically, I urge you to prepare for the release of a modest amount of oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to bring global oil supply and demand into better balance, thereby averting a potential oil price crisis in America and around the world," Schumer wrote on September 21^st.

Today, Schumer renewed his call and announced that he will be requesting a meeting with Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson and Department of Energy Officials to impress upon them the potential threat the rising price of oil poses to New York's economy.

Schumer pointed to a chart using data from FIMAT USA, a firm that tracks and forecasts oil markets for clients on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which showed the estimated cost of gas and home heating oil in New York State at various prices for crude oil. The difference between prices at $25 and $30 per barrel is another twenty cents at the pump as well as for those purchasing home heating oil.

"Six months ago, no one would have believed that oil could possibly reach $25 dollars a barrel this year, yet that is precisely where we are today. Oil shouldn't have to hit thirty dollars a barrel before the federal government steps in to help consumers," said Schumer.

Utica Gas Stations:

Among Schumer's findings, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline jumped in Buffalo and all upstate cities between March 31^st and September 29^th of this year:

1. The average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline increased from $1.11 to $1.35. Among a sampling of gas stations surveyed:
2. In the last 6 months, the price of regular unleaded gasoline at the Genesee Street Citgo has gone from $1.08 to $1.35.

"We are at the very beginning of the buying season for home heating oil and even before the latest round of OPEC talks, analysts in the home heating market were forecasting prices thirty percent above last year's mark. No state is more dependent on home heating oil than New York, and I fear mostly for the elderly on fixed income who may not have the money to prepare for a
cold winter," said Schumer.

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