[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 299 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 299
Expressing the sense of the House that the President should take
immediate action to initiate measures to lower the burden of gasoline
prices on the economy of the United States, prevent Members of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from reaping windfall
profits on sales of oil to the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 26, 2005
Mr. Bishop of New York submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to
the Committees on International Relations and the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House that the President should take
immediate action to initiate measures to lower the burden of gasoline
prices on the economy of the United States, prevent Members of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from reaping windfall
profits on sales of oil to the United States, and for other purposes.
Whereas the price of crude oil and gasoline have a direct and substantial impact
on the financial well-being of families of the United States, the
potential for economic recovery, and for protecting the national
security;
Whereas the United States currently imports the majority of its crude oil from
foreign countries;
Whereas the 11 countries that make up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) produce 40 percent of the world's crude oil and control
three-quarters of proven reserves, including much of the spare
production capacity;
Whereas despite the severely high sustained price of crude oil--
(1) OPEC has refused to adequately increase production to calm global
oil markets and officially abandoned its $22-$28 price per barrel target;
and
(2) officials of OPEC member nations have publicly indicated support
for maintaining oil prices of $40-$50 per barrel;
Whereas on April 1, 2005 the price of crude oil reached a record high of $57 per
barrel and remains in the $50 range;
Whereas increases in the price of crude oil result in increases in prices paid
by the United States consumers for refined petroleum products,
including, gasoline, and diesel fuel, and home heating oil;
Whereas increases in crude oil prices already have resulted in American
consumers and families paying more for cost increases for gasoline at
the pump, which reached an average national high of $2.28 a gallon in
April 2005, and analysts predict that this level could continue
throughout the summer driving season;
Whereas increases in the costs of refined petroleum products have a negative
effect on many Americans, including the elderly and low-income
individuals (whose home heating oil costs have dramatically increased in
the last year), families who must pay higher prices at the gas station,
farmers (already hurt by low commodity prices, trying to factor
increased costs into their budgets in preparation for the growing
season); truckers (who face an almost 14-year high in diesel fuel
prices), and manufacturers and retailers (who must factor in increased
production and transportation costs into the final price of their
goods);
Whereas under current estimates, a family of four will spend $2,873 on gasoline
this year, $423 more than last year and almost $800 more than two years
ago, based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer
Expenditure Survey and the Energy Information Administration;
Whereas the President has failed to use a variety of tools at his disposal to
provide gasoline price relief to working families, including proper
management of the resources of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
that could provide the United States with a way to counterbalance OPEC
supply management policies; the President has not forcefully pressed all
OPEC Member Countries to immediately increase oil production in order to
lower crude oil prices and safeguard the world economy;
Whereas the President declined to insist on measures to lower gasoline prices as
he was encouraging Congress to enact the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and
postponed introduction of alterative fuel and hybrid vehicle initiatives
until after the House of Representatives passed the Energy Policy Act;
Whereas the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy has
determined that the President's energy bill will not reduce energy
prices or reduce America's dependence on imported oil, finding that
provisions of the energy conference report of 2004 [substantially
similar to the energy bill passed by the House in April, 2005] would
have a negligible impact on changes to production, consumption, imports,
and prices, and that provisions would actually increase the price of
gasoline by 3 cents per gallon and would still increase United States
dependence on foreign oil by 85 percent;
Whereas Current policy of filling the SPR has exacerbated the rising price of
crude oil and record high retail price of gasoline, and is unnecessary
since the SPR is more than 98 percent full; and
Whereas increasing vertical integration and consolidation of oil companies have
allowed--
(1) the 5 largest companies in the United States to control almost as
much crude oil production as the middle Eastern members of OPEC, over \1/2\
of domestic refiner capacity, and over 60 percent of the retail gasoline
market; and
(2) the top 10 oil companies in the world to make more than a record-
setting $100,000,000,000 in profits in 2004, and announce first-quarter
earnings that would put them on track to break that record in 2005: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President
should directly communicate to the members of OPEC that--
(1) the United States believes that restricting supply in
the growing market for crude oil does serious damage to the
efforts that OPEC members have made to demonstrate that they
represent a reliable source of crude oil supply;
(2) the United States believes that stable crude oil prices
and supplies are essential for strong economic growth
throughout the world; and
(3) the United States seeks an immediate increase in OPEC
crude oil production quotas.
SEC. 2. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE.
(a) The President shall temporarily suspend further acquisitions of
crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through his
administrative authority, thereby freeing up additional supply for the
marketplace.
(b) Further purchases of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
shall be suspended immediately, thereby freeing up additional supply
for the marketplace.
(c) When and if prices decline substantially below the current high
levels, any determination by the Secretary of Energy to resume
purchases should follow the market-based practices used prior to 2002;
carry out and make public analyses of costs and savings when making or
deferring such acquisitions; take into account and report to Congress
the impact the acquisition will have on the domestic and foreign supply
of petroleum and the resulting price increases or decreases; and
consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security on the security
consequences of such acquisition or deferral.
(d) The existing statutory cap of 700,000,000 barrels of crude oil
should not be increased while crude oil prices remain at current high
levels.
SEC. 3. GASOLINE MARKET ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICES.
(a) The President shall direct the Federal Trade Commission and
Attorney General to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets to
protect the American people from price gouging and unfair practices at
the gas pump, including, but not limited to exercising their
authorities under the federal antitrust laws to block anti-competitive
mergers of companies that explore for oil, own refineries, or act as
wholesalers or retailers of gasoline or other petroleum products
refined from oil.
(b) In evaluating whether any combination of refiners violates the
antitrust laws, the Commission or the Attorney General shall not
approve any combination that would create a highly concentrated market
that would injure, destroy, or limit competition. The evaluation should
include the prospect of zone pricing, redlining, exporting oil to other
countries, or withholding gasoline supplies from the market.
SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY IN OIL PRICING.
The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of
Energy, shall issue regulations requiring full disclosure by refiners
and distributors of their wholesale motor fuel pricing policies, with a
separate listing of each component contributing to prices, including
the cost of crude oil (with exploration, extraction, and transportation
costs shown separately if the refiner or distributor is also the
producer of the crude oil), refining, marketing, transportation,
equipment, overhead, and profit, along with portions of any rebates,
incentives, and market enhancement allowances.
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