Posted on 04/24/2006 12:12:45 PM PDT by Crackingham
Republican congressional leaders on Monday urged the Bush administration to investigate whether oil companies are gouging consumers at the gasoline pump and if market speculators are pushing up fuel prices. U.S. retail gasoline prices are above $3 a gallon in many parts of the country and pump costs are forecast to keep rising. Republicans fear they could lose the Senate and House of Representatives in this November's congressional elections if voters retaliate against them for the high fuel prices.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert wrote President George W. Bush and asked him to direct the U.S. Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on any potential price gouging.
"Anyone who is trying to take advantage of this situation while American families are forced into making tough choices over whether to fill up their cars or severely cut back their budgets should be investigated and prosecuted," the lawmakers said in their joint letter to Bush.
The lawmakers also want the Justice Department and the FTC to look into oil refining operations, transporting fuel by pipelines, marine vessels and trucks, storing and marketing fuel, and spot shortages of gasoline to determine if there is any manipulation of gasoline prices.
"Sweeps of retail distribution centers should be undertaken to ensure that retail price movements are in response to a change in market conditions and not price gouging," the lawmakers said.
They also asked Bush to direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to increase its scrutiny of trading of oil, gasoline and other energy contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange to determine if the price spike is caused by market manipulation by traders or energy firms.
"We believe that protecting American consumers in these unprecedented market conditions is of paramount importance," the lawmakers said.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said the Republicans' call for a gasoline price investigation shows they are "scrambling for political cover" because Republicans will be held accountable for "turning a blind eye" to soaring gasoline costs. The Democrats also said the Republicans' demand for action lacks credibility because Republican lawmakers "have allowed oil and gas companies to line their campaign accounts with cash when they should have been cracking down on price gouging and rising gas prices."
And yes, stop the damned pandering too!
The demagoguery of those in Congress, seeking to blame those bringing supplies to market, may be par for the course, in these days of moronic sloganized politics. But it does not reflect the realities of economics. (See Economics & Common Sense.)
William Flax
"Perhaps talk some about what is happening to permanently solve the problem?"
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, government IS the problem.
Apart from nonexistent or nonsensical energy policies,
federal and state taxes on fuel account for far more money than the "obscene profits" of the oil companies. While it looks bad for oil execs to get big perks, politicians and bureaucrats are able to pi$$ away many times more in fuel tax money (which they did ZERO to earn), all the while blaming Big Oil for high prices. And Old Media (which has no trouble cashing advertising checks from Big Oil) nods approvingly.
Any politician not calling for suspension of fuel taxes needs to be told to put up or shut up by constituents.
It's absolutely a suppy & demand issue. More to the point, oil is a world commodity with China one of the new players on the block.
Good job Republicans. Put out these kinds of messages which lend legitimacy to Democratic/media lies that somehow the president can wave a magic wand and control gas prices.
Clue to Congress: You have more control over the price of gas if you'd:
A) Vote to at least temporarily suspend all federal gas taxes and make due with these year's bloated transportation budget to cover next years as well. Gas prices would drop 18 cents a gallon.
C). Suspend all EPA clean air mandates imposed in the last decade, particularly the onerous 1997 Carol Browner mandates which have spiked fuel prices every spring since.
B). This one comes under the heading of "too late now," but you should have given liability protection to MTBE manufacturers. Their being driven out of business this spring by the trial lawyers is what has lead to fuel shortages as ethanol takes over the clean air additive job and can't begin to meet the same demand MTBE did.
But none of this can be done with presidential fiat. And we know you won't do any of it. Much easy to play into simple-minded notions about the president being the grand poobah and controlling authority over everything from the state of the economy, gas prices and the sun coming up in the morning than to actually ACT to do the things mentioned above which could nearly immediately mitigate the high price gas.
Thus demonstrating for the whole world to see, just how ignorant of economics these two clowns are!
This is ridiculous and wrong headed! How about looking into the following:
Why we're not drilling in ANWAR
Why we're not drilling off the Atlantic or Pacific coasts
Why we're not processing shale oil from out western deposits
Why we haven't opened any new refineries in 30 years
Why we're not opening any new Nuclear Power Plants.
This is a perfect opportunity to take a baseball bat to the head of the demcrap party but our side just doesn't have any interest in playing hardball.
I have a co-worker who was thinking about buying a more fuel efficient vehicle for his 90 mile round trip commute each day. He has a car that gets 22 mpg on the highway and cost $25,000 three years ago.
So now he's looking at cars in the $30,000 price range that get 26 mpg on the highway.
I kept my trap shut, but I wanted to say: Why Don't You Move Closer To Work? or Buying a more expensive car for 4 mpg ain't saving you any money, bud!
I see Hawaii has given up on price controls.
Or they could repeal the law of supply and demand....seems like every summer talking heads on tv are shocked that gas prices rise!
It could have something to do with more people driving more miles...
That said, Big Oil lacks the morality of LA crack gangs...at least the street thugs have some sense of loyalty to their own.
I swear I read somewhere that OPEC said they had plenty in stock... maybe just wishful thinking on my part.
HE could open up ANWR if he wanted to.
I seem to remember a phrase from the last administration that went something like:
"Stroke of the pen, law of the land. Kinda cool."
Choices like $3 per gallon of gas or $8.00 per gallon for bottled water, $14 per gallon for really cheap beer, $30 for a gallon of crappy whine, or $6 per gallon for your favorite soft drink.
Remind me which party is pro-business and free enterprise?
Aha! You bring up another good point to consider.....the willful withholding of oil to drive the prices up. Still a supply & demand issue, but with criminal intent. At least, that's how I see it.
Those two clowns probably know what's very likely to happen if it starts getting close to the election and we're up to around four bucks a gallon.
He should buy a used Geo Metro for 2,000 and put the other 28,000 in a retirement fund...
It'll never be stolen by any self-respecting criminal, it'll get great gas mileage, and if it breaks you go buy a new one..
OK. Next time oil prices drop precipitously and my royalty income dries up and I'm forced to live on the streets, I'll know who it is that *I* want investigated.
"Funny how I woke up this AM and thought I heard a number of Democrats calling for price controls and various govt interventions re gasoline prices.... then I realized that these were Republicans!"
Obviously they are too young or too dumb to remember what happened when Peanut Brain did this in 1976...No gas at any price in many stations.
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