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Senator Boxer Calls Out Big Oil Companies

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – With gas prices spiking here in the Bay Area and around the rest of the country, California Senator Barbara Boxer said she believes it's time to reign in "big oil".

Boxer said there's a reason we have a rainy day fund, and now more than ever is the time to use it.

"We've got to go to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's quite full and has more oil in it than ever before," said Boxer. "When we did that in 2005, the price of gas decreased 31 percent in the next three months."

KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:

It was just this past week when several of the top oil firms in the nation reported multi-billion dollar profits. Senator Boxer said with a cash flow like that, it should be time to end all the federal tax subsidies given to them.

"They're getting corporate welfare and corporate subsidies to the tune of $4 billion a year," she said. "We have to take that money and put it into alternatives."

Drilling is another option as Boxer said these companies are sitting on 70,000 acres of leases that they have yet to tap into.

"They are not environmentally-sensitive so I say use it or lose it," said Boxer.

She is also calling for a crackdown on oil speculation, as she said the practice adds an extra $20-25 per barrel of crude oil.

Boxer said if the administration doesn't get a handle on oil and rising gas prices, it could thrust the nation back into a terrible recession.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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