Perino downplays Senate speculation vote

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- White House spokeswoman Dana Perino Tuesday downplayed the significance of the Senate's 94-0 vote to curb oil speculation.

At the daily press briefing, Perino said the administration believes supply-and-demand are largely responsible for the recent run-up in oil prices.

"So while they can have the vote on speculation and they can move forward on that, we think that it is critical that we start focusing on the resources that we have in our country and the ways that we can access those resources in environmentally friendly ways, including oil shale, offshore oil drilling and opening up a small bit of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling," Perino said.