[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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