We've spent an extra $20 billion on gasoline so far this year:

[partylessinOhio]

Pricey gasoline costs U.S. consumers extra $20 bln
By Tom Doggett
7 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The jump in U.S. gasoline prices this year has so far drained consumers of an extra $20 billion, or about $146 for each passenger car in the country, the Government Accountability Office told Congress on Tuesday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.22 a gallon this week, and is up $1.05 since the beginning of February, according to the Energy Department.

The added expense is taking money away from consumers to spend on other goods and services.

"Spending billions more on gasoline constrains consumers' budgets, leaving less money available for other purchases," GAO's Thomas McCool said in written testimony to a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the cause of record prices.

Like many other energy experts, McCool said the GAO has found that current high pump costs are the result of a large amount of oil refining capacity being offline, strong gasoline demand and lower fuel inventories. ...

Officials from oil giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell Oil, along with major oil refiner Valero Energy Corp., were asked to testify at the hearing but declined to appear. ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070522/us_nm/usa_congress_gasoline_dc

Had enough yet? Don't expect any help from Pelosi/Reid or the other mushrooms.