Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Senator Rockefeller Outraged At Republicans.
With gas prices over four dollars a gallon, Sen. Jay Rockefeller today expressed outrage that Republicans blocked legislation that would have provided West Virginians with necessary relief at the gas pump. The legislation, the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008, would have addressed the root causes of rising gas prices by taxing oil company windfall profits, stopping market manipulation by oil traders, and standing up to OPEC nations who are accused of price fixing.
“There’s absolutely no question that West Virginians are being crushed under the weight of rising gas prices. In fact, we’ve been paying more than four dollars a gallon for some time now and truly need some relief from the pain at the gas pump. This legislation would have put us on that path. That’s why I’m incredibly disappointed that Senate Republicans chose to put the interests of the oil companies ahead of the consumer,” Rockefeller said. “I can only hope that eventually those senators who chose to vote against this bill will have a change of heart when they hear from families and small businesses in their state, like I have, just how devastating the skyrocketing price of gas has become.”
To help create a long-term solution to help reduce gas prices, the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008, specifically:
- gives the President authority to declare an energy emergency, making price gouging for fuel products illegal and punishable with fines of up to $5 million
- requires the Federal Trade Commission to give priority to cases involving Big Oil, allowing the attorneys general in all 50 states to enforce the law in U.S. district courts
- creates a permanent tax on “windfall profits” of the major oil companies
- prevents traders of U.S. crude oil from routing transactions through non-U.S. markets to evade speculative limits and reporting requirements set by the Commodities Future Trading Commission
- increases the oversight and enforcement authority of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission over petroleum markets and noncommercial market participants
“I can assure every West Virginian that I will continue to fight for gas price relief. This bill is just one part of a larger solution. We also need to invest in long-term strategies that will keep gas prices down in the future through investments in alternative fuels and clean coal technologies, and in the promotion of responsible and sensible energy conservation measures,” Rockefeller added.
Senator Rockefeller has a long history of fighting for comprehensive energy policies that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He has:
- supported efforts to increase domestic supply through oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which could add 1.26 billion new barrels of oil in the short-term to our domestic supply
- opposed speculative and damaging efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is expensive and even under the best of estimates would provide no real benefit for at least 10-20 years (see attached report showing negligible benefit from drilling in ANWR)
- supported holding off on additional deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
- long-supported a windfall profits tax on integrated, multinational oil companies
- sponsored legislation that would force the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate price gouging
“There’s absolutely no question that West Virginians are being crushed under the weight of rising gas prices. In fact, we’ve been paying more than four dollars a gallon for some time now and truly need some relief from the pain at the gas pump. This legislation would have put us on that path. That’s why I’m incredibly disappointed that Senate Republicans chose to put the interests of the oil companies ahead of the consumer,” Rockefeller said. “I can only hope that eventually those senators who chose to vote against this bill will have a change of heart when they hear from families and small businesses in their state, like I have, just how devastating the skyrocketing price of gas has become.”
To help create a long-term solution to help reduce gas prices, the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008, specifically:
- gives the President authority to declare an energy emergency, making price gouging for fuel products illegal and punishable with fines of up to $5 million
- requires the Federal Trade Commission to give priority to cases involving Big Oil, allowing the attorneys general in all 50 states to enforce the law in U.S. district courts
- creates a permanent tax on “windfall profits” of the major oil companies
- prevents traders of U.S. crude oil from routing transactions through non-U.S. markets to evade speculative limits and reporting requirements set by the Commodities Future Trading Commission
- increases the oversight and enforcement authority of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission over petroleum markets and noncommercial market participants
“I can assure every West Virginian that I will continue to fight for gas price relief. This bill is just one part of a larger solution. We also need to invest in long-term strategies that will keep gas prices down in the future through investments in alternative fuels and clean coal technologies, and in the promotion of responsible and sensible energy conservation measures,” Rockefeller added.
Senator Rockefeller has a long history of fighting for comprehensive energy policies that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He has:
- supported efforts to increase domestic supply through oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which could add 1.26 billion new barrels of oil in the short-term to our domestic supply
- opposed speculative and damaging efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is expensive and even under the best of estimates would provide no real benefit for at least 10-20 years (see attached report showing negligible benefit from drilling in ANWR)
- supported holding off on additional deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
- long-supported a windfall profits tax on integrated, multinational oil companies
- sponsored legislation that would force the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate price gouging
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 11:45 AM 
