[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 39 (Thursday, April 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3350-S3351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               GAS PRICES

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I understand the State Department bill 
has currently been laid aside. When it returns, I intend to offer an 
amendment, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity today to 
talk about it.
  My amendment--we are calling it the OPEC Accountability Act--is 
cosponsored by Senators Durbin and Dorgan. It will bring some sanity 
and fairness to the world oil markets. It will help provide some relief 
to our citizens from soaring gas prices that punish American families, 
businesses, and the entire community.
  My amendment will direct the U.S. Trade Representative to initiate 
World Trade Organization proceedings against OPEC nations. Under the 
rules of the WTO, countries are not permitted to set or maintain export 
quotas. It is illegal. But that is exactly what OPEC does. OPEC is a 
cartel. Everybody knows that. The whole point of the organization is to 
set quotas. Why set quotas? To control prices. The mission is often to 
have countries beholden to them outside their little orbit, and they 
then are able to outrageously set prices for commodities that are 
essential. They collude to set quotas for the export of oil, which 
cause gas prices to rise.
  I say to people across America, if you are wondering why gas is so 
expensive these days, a major part of that answer is OPEC. It is an 
illegal cartel, plain and simple. And we have allowed this cartel to 
operate for too long. Now it is time to put a stop to it. Every day 
American families feel the effects of the OPEC cartel at the gas pump. 
Look at the spike in the price of gas since 2001. Gas prices have 
nearly doubled since 2001.
  I am going to show another chart that more particularly shows the 
precise prices for gasoline during those periods. In December of 2001, 
a gallon of gas averaged in price at $1.15. That was 2001. Today a 
gallon of gas averages $2.30. That is a doubling of the price in just 
over 4 years. This spike in gasoline prices hurts American families.
  We hear a lot of talk about tax relief for middle-income families. 
But whatever tax cuts they received in that middle-income family in the 
last 4 years are being eaten up by increased gas prices. When you look 
at the gas price in that period of time and compare it to the Bush tax 
cut, the tax cut would have been $659. But the cost for gasoline the 
average family used in that year is $780, far more than the tax cut 
brought home to families.
  A middle-income family who uses one tank of gas a week is going to 
pay an extra $780 a year because of rising gas prices eating up every 
penny and more that they received from the tax cut of the last 4 years.
  When Americans drove up to the gas station on December 2001, this is 
what they saw: Regular gas $1.06 a gallon; the supreme, the high-test 
gas, $1.25 a gallon. Now after years of administration inaction, what 
we are looking at is regular is $2.22 compared to $1.06; $2.31 compared 
to $1.15 for plus gas; and $2.40 for supreme compared to $1.25 just 
over 4 years ago. It is an outrage.
  One of the things that always bothers me is when I look at the 
forecast for inflation and I see what we are paying. I can't think of 
anything that is cheaper than it used to be, whether it is food, 
energy, or gasoline, no matter what it is. Here is the pressure. 
Frankly, I believe it has been administered poorly. I don't think we 
have tried to figure out a way to keep these costs down.

  Some of these countries that are members of OPEC are totally 
dependent on America for their security. Yet they are willing to impair 
our security, our economic well-being, our job creation, our business 
function. They don't mind that when they have the weapon that they 
conveniently use against us.
  Most people live on a fixed income. They can't stop driving to their 
job or taking the kids to school or going to the doctor's office or the 
grocery store. They have to pay the increased price for gas. That means 
they have to cut back on other things, perhaps air-conditioning or heat 
or a visit to the doctor or perhaps foregoing a therapy session for an 
injury. All of these are taken away by this outrageous increase in the 
cost of gasoline.
  The soaring price of gas is already taking a toll on American 
families. If something is not done soon, it could get a lot worse. This 
also is rattling the prices of stocks on the stock exchange, 
investments, causing all kinds of dislocation there. It is led by the 
increasing demand for oil.
  Goldman Sachs, a very well known financial firm, one of the biggest 
in the world, predicts that oil could reach $105 a barrel by the end of 
this year. It is now in the fifties, almost double the current price. 
While American families suffer, I don't hear anything coming from the 
President, the administration, to say anything about it. As a matter of 
fact, during the last campaign, it was frequently suggested that if 
John Kerry were President, he would be raising taxes on gasoline.
  What are we looking at here? However we got here, it is on the watch 
of the Bush administration. Here are the prices again. Now it is $2.22 
for a gallon of gas. It used to be $1.06. That is a lot of money, 
particularly since the type of vehicle that is frequently driven today 
is a gas-consuming vehicle. It costs a lot of money now to have that 
car running and to take care of your family's needs.

[[Page S3351]]

  President Bush has repeatedly said that he would talk to his Saudi 
friends in the oil business. Talk is cheap, but oil and gasoline isn't. 
The American people want action. This amendment is a call to action. We 
have to find a way to escape the grasp of these countries around our 
economic well-being and our functioning as a society.
  I have released a report explaining exactly how OPEC nations are 
violating the rules of the WTO. This report is on my Web site. I invite 
my colleagues and the public to read it. The report reaches a simple 
and straightforward conclusion. OPEC manipulates world oil markets by 
imposing export quotas on oil. You hear them brag about it. These 
quotas keep the price of oil artificially high. Just think about it. 
Who is the leader? Which is the country that called on us in 1990, come 
help us; the Iraqis are headed our way; They want to overtake our 
country. And we sent 540,000 people in uniform to fight off Iraq's 
attempt to overtake Saudi Arabia.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I didn't know there was any time 
limit, but I ask unanimous consent to continue for 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business.
  Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, OPEC manipulates world oil markets 
with their export quotas on oil, which keeps the price artificially 
high.
  Without OPEC, market analysts have estimated that the free market 
price of oil would be around $10 to $15 lower than today's price. So 
the expectation is that oil would be lower in cost by $10 to $15 than 
it is today if it wasn't for this conspiracy out there by some so-
called friends and avowed enemies. That includes Iraq and former 
antagonist of the United States, Libya; and it includes other 
countries. There is no reason to continue to tolerate OPEC's 
anticompetitive behavior.
  The administration has been lax in dealing with OPEC. In my view, 
President Bush's close ties to the Saudis and big oil companies have 
prevented him from sticking up for the American consumers.
  Worse yet, high oil prices mean massive profits for countries such as 
Saudi Arabia and Iran--countries that frequently fund terrorism.
  The administration's inaction is allowing tens of billions of dollars 
to flow into the hands of the mullahs in Iran--money that finds its way 
to Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic jihad, and other terrorist organizations 
that kill innocent Americans.
  So while Iran, Saudi Arabia, and terrorists reap profits from OPEC's 
quotas, American families pay a terribly high price. It is time for us 
in this body to act. When the Senate returns to the State Department 
bill, I want to be able to see a vote taken on this issue so that we 
can see whether my colleagues agree with me that the cost of gasoline 
is to high, the cost of heating a house is too high, the cost of 
running a vehicle is too high, and it robs us of revenues that could 
otherwise go into more useful purposes.
  With that, I hope my colleagues will support the Lautenberg-Durbin-
Dorgan amendment when this amendment is presented.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed as in 
morning business for no more than 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business. The Senator 
from Vermont is recognized.

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