[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 144 (Thursday, November 3, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9610-H9611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GAS AND OIL COMPANY PROFITEERING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, every day now we see headlines in the
newspaper much like this one here from the USA Today back on October 7,
2005, saying: ``Staying Warm To Cost up to 90 Percent More This Year,''
as energy costs have just skyrocketed in this country. Our constituents
are bracing for a harsh winter, a record high in home energy costs; and
they just continue to skyrocket, while oil companies are announcing
record-breaking third quarter profits.
Even though gas has come down a little bit, 2 weeks ago even in my
district, the headline in the Marquette Mining Journal from October 19
said we are number one. We have the dubious title of having the highest
gas prices in the upper peninsula of Michigan. And it is no wonder why
we have record profits by the oil companies.
Our constituents are angry and are frustrated, and they deserve
answers from their elected officials. We must not stand by and let oil
and gas companies engage in price gouging and profiteering when
families are going to be forced to pay so much more to heat their
homes, to heat their places of business, as we see in article after
article anywhere from a 50 to 90 percent increase in home heating costs
in the upcoming months.
If we take a look at the documents recently provided by the current
administration from the Energy Information Administration, the American
family is going to have a 60 percent increase this year just to heat
their homes this winter. We have almost a 50 percent increase, they
figure, in natural gas. It will be a $350 increase this year. Home
heating oil they figure is going to be a $378 increase over last year.
Propane, $325 over last year. This is from, again, the Energy
Information Administration. What we have seen are a lot of demands from
our constituents to do something, but nothing is really being done.
In this Congress here a few weeks ago, we did try to pass an energy
bill to try to address price gouging, market manipulation, and bring
some transparency to how a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil is priced
when we go to use it. Unfortunately, that bill, which passed the House
here, was such a poor bill that the other body took one look at it and
they said they were not even going to take it up.
So there was an alternative bill that never had a chance to have an
up-or-down vote. It was called the FREE bill, free from energy
manipulation by the oil companies. That was the Democratic bill. And
what we did in our bill was this, and let me just show this chart here:
Why are energy costs so high? This was from September, 2004, until
September of 2005. To take the crude oil out of the ground or out of
the gulf, wherever they get it, was an increase of 46 percent in the
last 12 months, 46 percent. After the oil is taken out of the ground,
it goes to the refiners. The refiners increased their costs and their
prices 255 percent in the last 12 months. And then when it is
distributed from the refinery to the gas stations, to the retailers, or
to the oil companies to heat our homes this year, the cost is only 5
percent.
So the bill we had before us approximately 2 weeks ago put forth by
the majority party, instead of targeting the people who have increased
their prices 255 percent over the last 12 months, they targeted the
poor distributors and the gas station owners and the gas station
operators. They targeted the people who made 5 percent in the last
year. They targeted the wrong people. Plus the Republican bill did not
take in propane, did not take in natural gas. Thirdly, the only time
the Republican bill would kick in was when there is a natural disaster.
[[Page H9611]]
In the Democratic bill, on the other hand, Mr. Speaker, we targeted
all parts of the oil supply chain, from the crude producer, to the
refiner, to the distributor. We said if they engage in excessive
profits, like 255 percent over the last 12 months, we are going to go
after those profits. That is price gouging, market manipulation,
geographic price arrangements that they make from the refinery. And
those excessive profits, and I think people would agree with me that
255 percent is excessive, would then be put into a fund to help the Low
Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP as we call it.
So we take the extra money and put it in there to help people heat
their homes. We finally, for once, give the FTC, the Federal Trade
Commission, the authority to stop price gouging. We allow the State
attorneys general to enforce Federal law, and we maintain environmental
standards.
So this bill is back. We as a party, Democrats, are asking for a
clean up-or-down vote on our bill. Let us put forth our bill, which is
to stop the price gouging, market manipulation, the excessive regional
pricing that goes on; and let us have a clean up-or-down vote on it.
In the meantime, the Democratic Party is also asking, and, in fact,
the letter is being circulated today, that we bring in the oil
executives and ask them to explain to us how do they justify a 255
percent increase. Even a 46 percent increase is a tremendous amount of
increase in the last 12 months when inflation is running at about 3 to
4 percent. So these are the questions we have, and we would like a
free, clean up-or-down vote.
As high gas prices persist, hard-working Americans are preparing for
a cold winter during which they will likely face a doubling of home
heating costs. These serious concerns underscore the need for this
Congress to work together in a bipartisan manner. Let us investigate
and crack down on the price gouging and other forms of market
manipulation, and then maybe we will not see the headlines that we have
seen in the last week about what the oil companies have made in the
third quarter. The third quarter goes from, of course, July, August,
September. In those 90 days, July, August, September, Exxon-Mobil's
profit was $9.92 billion.
{time} 1900
That is the largest amount ever by a U.S. company, and 75 percent
more in profits than they made last year.
Shell Oil Company, they generated $9 billion in the third quarter, an
increase of 68 percent from last year. These are excessive profits.
Conoco Phillips generated $3.8 billion in the third quarter, an 89
percent increase from last year.
Again, we do not mind anyone making a profit. Inflation is running 3,
4, 5 percent. But 89 percent over one year?
British Petroleum generated $6.53 billion in the third quarter. These
are profits. That is after paying for everything else. They cannot say
it costs more. But these are profits, over and above.
And Chevron generated $3.6 billion.
The earnings of the world's five largest publicly traded oil
companies this quarter have put them on track to earn $100 billion this
year.
Mr. Speaker, I hope this Congress can work together and pass a real
energy program to help all Americans.
____________________