On May 20, 2008, the House passed the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, H.R. 6074. The bill authorizes the Justice Department to take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that participate in conspiracies to limit the supply, or fix the price, of oil. This bill will combat record gas prices, which climbed to $3.79 a gallon. President Bush threatened to veto this bill.
Learn more about our work to bring down gas prices from our Rising Gas and Energy Prices page>>
This bill makes clear that OPEC and other nations are not covered by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act when acting in a commercial capacity and are engaged in price-fixing and other anticompetitive activities. It authorizes lawsuits in U.S. federal court against oil cartel members by the Justice Department. This previously passed on May 22, 2007 by a vote of 345-72 (Dem: 220-5, Rep: 125-67).
The bill also creates a new Department of Justice Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to examine the existence and effects of price gouging in the sale of gasoline, anticompetitive price discrimination by petroleum refiners, unilateral actions to withhold supply in order to inflate the prices, and manipulation in futures markets. The measure also calls for a GAO study as to the effects on competition of prior mergers and ordered divestitures in the petroleum industry.
We don’t have to continue to stand by and watch OPEC – which accounts for more than two-thirds of global oil production, and about 65% of the oil traded internationally -- dictate the price of our gasoline without any recourse. It is time to give U.S. authorities the ability to prosecute anticompetitive conduct committed by international cartels that restricts supply and drives up prices.
With American families and businesses suffering pain at the pump, we must also ensure that oil companies earning record profits are playing by the rules, and not gouging consumers or engaging in anti-competitive behavior or market manipulation.
Background
With record levels of U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the U.S. importing nearly 6 million barrels of crude oil per day from Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries, American consumers remain at the mercy of OPEC nations in how much they pay to fill up their tanks.
In the past, the Bush Administration has threatened to veto similar measures passed by this Congress, despite broad bipartisan support, reflecting the President’s ‘drill and veto’ policies.
Today’s effort is part of our energy independence plan for America. From day one, the New Direction Congress has been fighting to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down record gas prices, and launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that lowers costs and creates hundreds of thousands of green jobs. The New Direction Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007, with provisions to combat oil market manipulation, make cars and trucks more fuel efficient, and promote the use of more affordable American biofuels.
This week, the New Direction Congress will enact bipartisan legislation to suspend deliveries of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a tool that has reduced prices for consumers in the past – as the President has dropped his opposition when confronted by veto-proof margins for action in both the House and Senate.
We are also about to boost biofuel production – the homegrown answer to our dependence on foreign oil -- from non-food crops in the Farm Bill.
The House will also pass tax incentives this week for investing in renewable energy to create the green jobs of the future and continue to conduct oversight on rising gas prices.
