House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Michigan Democrat, said today he wants to understand why gas prices are on the rise.
Conyers plans to hold a series of hearings with oil executives beginning May 7 under the watch of the committee's Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust Laws. Conyers sent a letter to Abdalla Salem El-Badri, Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, asking him to testify before his committee May 22 either in person or via teleconference.
"As consumers face rising gas prices in excess of $4.00 a gallon in some areas, oil companies are reporting record profits," Conyers said in a statement. "In the past few days, British Petroleum announced a 63 percent rise in profits for the first quarter of this year, Shell announced a 25 percent rise in earnings, and ConocoPhillips is up 17 percent. At the same time, OPEC announced that oil prices could hit $200 a barrel. Americans are forgoing planned vacations, paying higher prices for food, and struggling to pay for their daily commutes — all because of gas prices. They deserve to know why."
— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times
Comments (1)
Rep. Conyers might want to review the various GAO studies that have been conducted over the years about gas pricing and the alleged gouging. He might also like to review his basic economics coursebooks.I suspect that the profits being reported are a result of the low prices paid for crude years ago, and we may see a drop as the oil companies have to buy at the higher prices.
Of course Conyers could also investigate why we don't drill for oil off of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Florida Gulf Coast or ANWR.
Posted by Peterk | April 30, 2008 3:35 PM