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Oregonian's Over a Barrel
By SDIII
Congressman Peter Defazio and the Gasoline Price Stabilization ACT
H.R.1500
EUGENE, OREGON--(June 4, 2008)--I'm curious where the gas prices are
going to top out, better yet why even be dependant on gasoline shipped in
to Oregon, we seem to be the brunt of increasing gasoline prices
consistantly higher than the national average by at least 20 and 30 sents
more. Wouldn't that dependence leave us in the same sinking boat
constructed by the big oil companies as before? Our dependence on oil
is well ingrained, big oil companies spending millions and billions to
find new oil, build new refinery's to increase production (big oil is
saying that's what they are doing.. but they have said that for the last
three years ) and the cost of shipping it into Oregon where it will be
sold for just a few more pennies...everyday.
I expressed my
concerns with Congressman Defazio, we need to develope a
Bio and
Methanol E85 infastructure in Oregon to meet Oregon's transportation
needs, build our own infastructure for production in and for Oregon or we
will still be the victims of the BOWATFD (Big Oil Wolf At The Front Door)
hearing the same rhetoric for years to come. I feel as though big oil has
us over a barrel on this issue..
Congressman Defazio has reintroduced legislation--the Gasoline Price
Stabilization Act H.R. 1500
The Finer points..
Requires the President to file a trade complaint with the WTO against
OPEC for illegally colluding to raise oil prices, which violates global
trade rules. Imposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies to decrease
the incentive to gouge consumers.
Authorizes the use of the strategic petroleum reserve (a federal
reserve of 700 million barrels of oil ), as needed, to combat market
manipulation and supply problems. Releasing oil from the federal stockpile
will help ensure that supply disruptions (whether artificial or real )
don't lead to price spikes.
Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to establish minimum inventory
levels for
producers, refiners, and marketers of crude oil and
petroleum products in order to limit the impact unexpected supply
disruptions have on prices.
Reinstates the ban on exporting oil from Alaska.
Puts a
moratorium on oil company mergers ( the non-partisan General
Accounting Office reported 2,600 mergers in the U.S. petroleum
industry since the mid-1990s - by one measure, four companies control 74
percent of the gasoline market in Oregon ). It also creates a commission
to investigate the impact mergers are having on prices and to make
recommendations to restore competition in the petroleum
industry.
Establishes a commission to study and report on the
concentration of ownership of all aspects of exporing, refining,
distributing and selling crude oil and petroleum products.
Mandates the average fuel economy standards to be increases to 37 mph
by
2017 and 40 mpg by 2022. Requires the federal fleet of vehicles
achieve an average fuel economy that is higher than the baseline average.
The federal fleet would have to achieve a fuel economy of 3 mpg higher
than the average by 2010, and 6 mpg higher than the average by 2013.
The House of Representatives has passed several bills that will help
relieve gas prices. We are awaiting Senate action on many of these
bills.
H.R. 2264, the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (
NOPECS) Act,
passed the House on May 22, 2007. This legislation
enables the Department of Justice to take legal action against
OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that drive up
oil prices globally and in the United States.
H.R. 1252, the Energy Price Gouging Act, passed the House on May 23,
2007, This legislation will reduce the burden of rising gas prices on
American families, providing immediate relief to consumers by giving the
Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) the authority to investigate and punish
those who artificially inflate the price of energy. It ensures the federal
government has the tools it needs to adequately respond to energy
emergencies and prohibit price gouging - with a priority on refineries and
big oil companies.
H.R. 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy
Conservation Tax Act of 2008 passed the House on February 27, 2008. This
legislation will end unnecessary subsidies to Big Oil companies and invest
in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will extend and
expand tax incentives for renewable electricity, energy and fuel, as well
as for plug-in hybrid cars, and energy efficient homes, buildings, and
appliances.
In December of 2007, Congress did pass into law H.R. 6, the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007. This law will reduce our
dependence on foreign oil and our energy costs. The legislation made it
unlawful for any person to report false information on the wholesale price
of gasoline or petroleum and required the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
to enforce and punish those found guilty of market manipulation. The law
also established a single CAFE standard of 35 miles per gallon by the year
2020.
There is one idea that I am unable to support, a temporary or permanent
reduction in the gas tax. This proposal would have a significant negative
impact on the nation's surface transportation programs, and would
undermine our economic competitiveness and quality of life. The 18.3-cent
per gallon gas tax was established in 1993. At that time, the average
retail price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.05. Although the federal gas
tax has not changed in the last 15 years, the average price of a gallon of
gasoline has tripled to $3.39. It is clear that the gas tax is not the
problem.
Eliminating the gas tax won't solve the problem of high
prices, but it will remove almost $3 billion per month from federal
highway, highway safety, and transit infrastructure investments. Losing
this money for infrastructure would eliminate approximately 300,000
family-wage, highway construction-related jobs. The result is cuts to
critical highway safety funding, more congestion on our highways, and a
hit to our economy. The worst part of this proposal is it would allow oil
companies to continue to line their pockets with windfall profits. The
challenges to our nation's surface transportation network require serious,
thoughtful solutions, not political sound bites.
Finally, a number
of people have asked me why prices in Oregon are higher than most other
states. According to the General Accounting Office, the non-partisan
investigative arm of Congress, gas prices are higher in Oregon than many
other states due to four primary reasons: higher taxes, the ban on
self-service stations, the rural nature of the state (which increases
transportation costs), and the lack of refining capacity, which also
boosts transportation costs since all the gas must be shipped from out of
state.
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