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| House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices |
| 2008-05-20 |
| 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 lawmaker said Americans "are at the mercy" of OPEC for how much they pay for gasoline, which this week hit a record average of $3.79 a gallon. The White House opposes 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." The administration said less oil going to refineries would limit available gasoline supplies and raise fuel prices. Foreign investment in U.S. oil infrastructure has declined in the last decade. But the state-owned oil companies of several OPEC nations are owners of U.S. refineries, and those investments could be affected if the legislation becomes law, said Arlington, Virginia-based FBR Capital Markets Corp. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to carryout a study on the effects of prior oil company mergers on energy prices. The Senate would still have to approve the House measure. The Senate previously approved similar legislation as part of a broad energy bill. However, the OPEC-suing provision was removed after White House opposition in order to get the underlying energy legislation signed into law. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #9 Since supplies will most likely continue to decline and prices rise, what have we to lose? I know you guys are big free market champs, but this particular market is rigged from both ends, suppliers and buyers. The customer can't feasibly get a square deal the way things are. Maybe it's enough to scare them straight. Rebounding the value of the dollar wouldn't hurt either, the Eurozone is bellyaching about the differential already. They actually would like a stronger dollar to help with euro exports. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-05-20 23:13 |
| #8 What gorb said. The House Democrats are drunk on the meaningless symbolic gesture. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-20 21:53 |
| #7 How can they possibly think this will do the American people any good whatsoever? By showing them who the enemy is? Make no mistakes, restricting oil supply is as much a part of Juhad as 9/11. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-05-20 21:11 |
| #6 How can they possibly think this will do the American people any good whatsoever? |
| Posted by: eltoroverde 2008-05-20 20:59 |
| #5 Wait till Obama gets in and they pass a law forbidding the tides to touch him. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-20 18:44 |
| #4 The House can get as emotional as it wants because it knows the Senate will kill the bill. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-05-20 18:23 |
| #3 Why don't they just pass a law that repeals the law of supply and demand? That would have about as much effect. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-05-20 17:56 |
| #2 Sigh. I just can't fathom how the American voters can elect such infantile minds to such high office. Makes me question the current electoral process. It would be different if the Congress had the brainpower to direct the US Army to collect the fines. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-05-20 17:48 |
| #1 Well, that is sure to increase available supplies of oil and bring down prices! Fucking idiots! They really want to tighten up the oil market even more, don't they? What about ADDING to the global supply instead of pissing off the people that supply us with 40% of our import supply? They don't set prices and they are nearly at capacity pumping anyway. How about suing China and India for having growing economies that are slurping up oil at an increasing rate and lowering global supplies? It makes as much fucking sense! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-20 17:36 |