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 ...
The libs always need a boogeyman for their sham agenda. Now it's OPEC and the oil companies. Don't let anybody drill anywhere and then sue when prices rise.
They cry when we send dollars abroad to get “foreign oil”, they don't want us to drill here and then demand foreigners “pump more oil” for us to buy. Which the hell one is it?
F****** Idiots!
Very true, it’s the speculators they need to be going after and throwing in jail.
Don’t sue . . . DRILL. Use the money to subsidize drilling and pipelines. Drill ANWAR, drill the Gulf, drill Bakken, drill the coasts, drill everywhere!
Idiots.
Come on. This is a joke. Fess up.
I don’t know if it is the speculators but I do know that going after OPEC is a joke.
Just a reflection of our lawsuit-happy society today....
That vote tells me a lot of brain dead republicans went for the cheap gesture.
House Sues G-d Over Blue Sky: Says "Give Green A Chance!"
“I’d like to sue Congress for being stupid”
Me, too. Maybe we can make that a class action suit.
Excuse me, Could you, CONGRESS, sue the sun for SKIN CANCER?
Ya got that right. First we have the president over there going, "Please, please, please pump more oil." And now this idiot.
First, a Dem sponsors the bill knowing full well that it will pass because it puts the Pubs in the position of having to vote against a bill perceived by the lumpen masses as legislation to help reduce the 4 bucks a gallon current cost.
Second, it passes and the President will correctly veto it. However, who comes out as an uncaring ogre for the veto? Which President and which party comes out as unfeeling, uncaring monsters in this brilliant political finesse by the 'Rats?
Remember, nothing happens by chance in the political big leagues and both political parties were and are cognizant of the win-win strategery of the sponsors of the bill. There was nothing the Pubs could do......they were screwed.....and the sad part is they'll never admit it, so the real story will only be read on forums like this one.
The President and the GOP are hosed again.
Leni
My thoughts exactly.
Completely embarrasing.
The same Congress that refuses to allow us to develop our own oil resources is now planning to sue oil producers for not selling us oil at a price the Congress likes?
They're not idiots but they know the voters in their districts are. This is what Daniel Patrick Moynihan called "Boob bait for the bubbas." The vote will "prove" to their dull-witted constituents that they are "doing something" about high gasoline prices. Sadly, a lot of Republicans are that cynical as well. The American Legislative branch has been effectively neutered by environmentalists and political correctness. As long as voters demand stupid legislation the politicians will be only too happy to write it and pass it. Voters have a 2-minute attention span.
What utter morons...
DING DING DING DING!!!!!! The next step is realizing that a lawsuit ain't gonna change that.
Short of shutting down every commodities market in the world dealing in oil options and futures I don't see how you are going to prevent it.
That would be great news, then we would have to open up Anwar and other spots around our country and off our shores. I wish they would stop selling it to us. As a return favor, we'll stop feeding that area of the world. Let them drink oil sodas and eat sand sandwiches.
They don't have us over a barrel,it's just our politicians that want us to think they do.
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