Publicola – After her now-famous inquisitions of Obama’s treasury secretary Tim Geithner, it’s hardly surprising that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who has a knack for blending a populist sensibility with a wonky command of the facts, grilled oil executives today at a senate finance committee hearing.
While the hearing was actually about a headline issue (oil industry subsidies), Cantwell took the opportunity to dig into her big issue: a proposal to rein in speculation in oil futures and energy commodity markets.
(Cantwell sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission yesterday demanding that the CFTC “take decisive action toward meeting its statutory deadline to implement new rules to protect consumers from excessive speculation and possibly manipulation in the energy futures and swaps markets.”)
As one of the most beautiful states in the union–and one of the richest in natural resources–Washington has a special interest in energy and environmental policy. And Maria has fought hard to uphold the state’s conservation tradition, while also working to bring our energy policy into the 21st century.
Maria knows Washington’s business community – because, as an executive at an innovative software company, she was part of it. And as a Senator, she’s led the way in helping businesses large and small throughout Washington grow, thrive, and create jobs.
Maria has taken a leadership role on safety and security issues, including defending our borders, strengthening our military, cracking down on gangs, and taking on drug crime in Washington communities
Middle-class families around Washington and across the country are facing tough times–and tough decisions about balancing the family checkbook each month. Maria has fought to strengthen the economic security of Washington families and cut taxes for middle-class families.
