Rep. Jose Serrano: One of Two to Accept Venezuelan President Chavez' Offer of Cheap Oil

We turn to the issue of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his offer of cheap oil for poor US communities. New York Congressmember Jose Serrano is one of the few members of Congress promoting this effort. He's also one of the few to have voted last month for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and we want to talk to him about that first.

Last month, Democratic Congressman John Murtha sparked an intense debate on Capitol Hill after he introduced a bill calling for the deployment in Iraq to end "at the earliest practicable date." He also called for a rapid reaction force to stay in the region.

In response, the Republican leadership introduced a non-binding bill that proposed "the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately." It was rejected by 403 to 3.

The only three House Democrats to vote for the bill were Serrano, Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and Robert Wexler of Florida.

* Rep. Jose Serrano (D - New York), he represents the South Bronx.
Website: House.gov/Serrano

Poor residents in the South Bronx section of New York City and in Boston, Massachusetts will be receiving a huge gift this winter - inexpensive home heating oil from Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently completed historic agreements with Congressmen Jose Serrano of New York and William Delahunt of Massachusetts.

Under the agreements Citgo, the Houston-based American subsidiary of Venezuela's state owned oil company, will provide 8 million gallons of discounted home heating oil to residents of the South Bronx and 12 million gallons to low-income residents of Boston.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to benefit from the deals, which could produce savings of more than $20 million dollars.

The deal comes as Chavez continues to fiercely criticize President Bush. Last month, at the Latin American Summit in Argentina, he led a rally of 25,000 people to protest Bush and his economic policies in the region. The deal also comes as U.S oil companies have come under scrutiny for their record high profits while at the same time, oil prices are expected to reach record highs this winter.

Congressmember Serrano told the New York Times that the Citgo deal "sends an incredible message to other oil companies. It tells them that if these people in Venezuela can share their profits with poorer communities, then they should too."

Chavez first made the offer in August in Caracas. He made it again two months ago during an interview with Democracy Now. At that time Chavez said the Venezuelan company Citgo has 14,000 gas stations and eight refineries in the U.S. He went on to outline his offer of cheap oil.

Congressmember Serrano joins us one line from New York.

* Rep. Jose Serrano (D - New York), he represents the South Bronx.
Website: House.gov/Serrano

LISTEN ONLINE (or read transcript):
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/01/1526209


# Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez interviewed on Democracy Now!
Check out the full interview with Chavez:
Part 1
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/19/1336214&mode=thread&tid=25
Part 2
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/20/1330218&mode=thread&tid=25