[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H4178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FTC SHOULD INVESTIGATE INCREASE IN GASOLINE PRICES

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are playing games here on 
the House floor this week. America's consumers should not be fooled 
into believing that the energy bills on the floor will do anything to 
lower gas prices in the immediate future.
  Back in 2001, the FTC concluded that during the summer of 2000 price 
spike certain suppliers had pursued a profit-maximizing strategy, 
intentionally withholding gasoline supplies or delaying shipping as a 
tactic to drive up prices. Such collusion would be easier today, with 
the top 10 refiners now controlling 78 percent of the supply. That is a 
22 percent increase over a decade ago.
  Today, 48 of my Democratic colleagues joined me in sending a letter 
to the FTC asking that it begin a thorough investigation into whether 
or not gas companies are colluding to artificially increase prices.
  We cannot let the Bush administration's cozy relationship with big 
oil companies hold Americans hostage at the pump. If Congressional 
Republicans were really interested in doing something today, they would 
call on the Bush administration to launch an investigation to determine 
whether oil companies are purposefully inflating prices at the pump.

                          ____________________