[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 500 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 500

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in opposition to 
efforts by major natural gas exporting countries to establish a cartel 
or other mechanism to manipulate the supply of natural gas to the world 
 market for the purpose of setting an arbitrary and nonmarket price or 
                as an instrument of political pressure.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2007

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Mack, Mr. 
   Chabot, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
  Fortuno, Mr. Royce, and Mr. Inglis of South Carolina) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in opposition to 
efforts by major natural gas exporting countries to establish a cartel 
or other mechanism to manipulate the supply of natural gas to the world 
 market for the purpose of setting an arbitrary and nonmarket price or 
                as an instrument of political pressure.

Whereas the United States currently is largely self-sufficient in natural gas 
        but is projected to greatly increase its usage over time, which could 
        create a growing dependence on world supply;
Whereas the cost of natural gas has approximately tripled since 2000 and has had 
        a significant negative impact on United States manufacturers and on 
        employment in manufacturing;
Whereas in 2004 alone the rising cost of natural gas was responsible for the 
        closure of scores of chemical companies in the United States and the 
        loss of over 100,000 jobs;
Whereas chemicals, plastics, and advanced composite materials are used 
        extensively for military and commercial applications and are crucial 
        components of the United States defense industrial base, which is the 
        foundation of United States national security;
Whereas Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, and other United States allies, 
        are heavily dependent on imported natural gas, and countries such as 
        China and India are rapidly increasing their reliance on foreign 
        suppliers;
Whereas the supply of natural gas is controlled by a relatively small number of 
        countries, including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Algeria, and 
        Qatar, among others;
Whereas these and other countries have established an organization known as the 
        Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) to promote coordination on policies 
        regarding natural gas;
Whereas the members of the GECF are estimated to possess over 70 percent of 
        global gas reserves and over 40 percent of global production;
Whereas several of these countries have governments hostile to the United 
        States;
Whereas on January 29, 2007, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei proposed 
        that Russia and Iran cooperate to establish a cartel for natural gas, 
        which has been termed a ``gas OPEC'';
Whereas Russian President Putin has expressed great interest in the formation of 
        a cartel of this type;
Whereas Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has declared his strong support for the 
        proposed cartel and described it as an expansion of his efforts to 
        establish a similar cartel in the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas Iranian officials have made clear their interest in using this ``gas 
        OPEC'' as an instrument for political purposes;
Whereas Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to use its role as 
        supplier of oil and gas to exert political pressure on other countries, 
        such as Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus, among others;
Whereas Europe currently relies on Russia for almost half of its imports of 
        natural gas and is likely to increase its dependence on this source over 
        the next decade;
Whereas North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials have warned of the danger 
        of Europe's increasing dependence on Russian energy and of the prospect 
        of alternative suppliers, such as Algeria, cooperating with Russia;
Whereas at the GECF meeting in Doha on April 9, 2007, of senior officials from 
        Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Algeria, Qatar, and other countries, 
        an agreement was reached to establish a committee chaired by the Russian 
        Government to study proposals for greater coordination of policies, 
        including pricing, that participants stated would be necessary for the 
        creation of a cartel; and
Whereas the creation of an international cartel for natural gas similar to that 
        of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would pose a 
        major threat to the price and supply of energy, to the economy of the 
        Unites States and of the world, and to their security: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved,  That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States should make clear to the governments 
        of major natural gas exporting countries that it regards 
        efforts to establish a cartel or other mechanism to manipulate 
        the supply of natural gas to the world market for the purpose 
        of setting an arbitrary and nonmarket price, or as an 
        instrument of political pressure, to be an unfriendly act 
        prejudicial to the security of the United States and of the 
        world as a whole;
            (2) the United States should develop a joint strategy with 
        its allies and all countries that are importers of natural gas, 
        as well as with cooperative exporting countries, to prevent the 
        establishment of a cartel or other mechanism of this type, 
        including by diversifying sources and alternative means of 
        access by exporters and importers to international markets, 
        such as by pipeline; and
            (3) in order to mitigate potential economic and other 
        threats to our security, the United States should work with our 
        allies to reduce our dependence on natural gas and to increase 
        and promote the utilization of clean energy sources.
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