[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.

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