Posted on 05/20/2008 10:57:54 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices Tue May 20, 2008 1:53pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.
The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.
The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto.
The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.
"This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules -- instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities," said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation.
The White House opposed the bill, saying that targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards "would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries and lead to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Oh, brother. What an embarrassing government we have, I swear.
this is way beyond stupid. nancy and her winged monkeys outdid themselves on this.
The sand dunes are alight with the sound of laughing.....
I’d like to sue Wisconsin for electing a bona fide nitwit.
Oh. Yea. This will help. Idiots.
Oh. Yea. This will help. Idiots.
Just when you thought our Congress couldn’t act any dumber...
Next up will be a bill to allow us to sue nature for being too hot or too cold. Makes you really proud of our liberal controlled congress dosen’t it?
Oops. Jpl, that wasn’t addressed to you. That was to the idiots in our Government.
WTH?? You have got to be s*****g me...
Who on our side of the isle was stupid enough to go along with this?
In retaliation they will close the spicket a little, just for the sheer hell of it and because they can.
Absolutely brilliant (/s). What happens when those countries say “screw you we ain’t selling to you anymore”?
The do nothing Congress never ceases to amaze me. They won’t touch ANWR, but they will sue OPEC.
This just proves the fact that the majority of our legilators are lawyers and can only think the way that lawyers think. Is there any wonder that we are in the mess that they have created?
We elected these representatives. It’s our fault.
Were I an OPEC member, and if this passed, I would just say “What oil?” and sell elsewhere.
Jimmy Carter 2.0. Same Do Nothing then bitch about it Energy policy from the 1970s!
Want to really see red? Despite record demand for Oil world wide US Oil production is dropping! That Feds, thanks for clinging mindlessly to the trust fund baby Green Lobby pushed dogma of “Conservation not Consumption” Thanks for making us even more dependent on imported Energy Leftists!
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrfpus2m.htm
Go ahead you morons, piss ‘em off and when they embargo sales to the U.S. you can explain why gas costs $10 a gallon, if you can find any.
The stupidity of these people is breathtaking.
Carolyn
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