Pelosi: House Overwhelmingly Votes to Take Action Against Oil Price Fixing

[Chris_]

Pelosi: House Overwhelmingly Votes to Take Action Against Oil Price Fixing

Washington, D.C.- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on H.R. 6074, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, which passed the House by a vote of 324 to 84, despite a veto threat:

“The House today with a strong bipartisan and veto-proof margin voted to hold foreign oil cartels and Big Oil accountable. 

“The legislation provides the Justice Department with a critical tool to pursue antitrust actions against OPEC-controlled entities for fixing prices and creates a new Justice Department Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to examine anticompetitive market practices in the oil industry.  It also requires that the mergers of Big Oil companies in recent years be examined for anticompetitive effects.

“Instead of using a veto threat to shield cartels and Big Oil companies from accountability, the Bush Administration should work with the Congress to protect American consumers.”


http://speaker.house.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0672

[Chris_]

Is it just me, or is this only going to make things worse? 

Piss off OPEC.  That's a great idea, Nancy.

[Willow]

Is it just me, or is this only going to make things worse? 

Piss off OPEC.  That's a great idea, Nancy.

It's not you, it will make things worse. Just like when the Democrats say "we will tax rich corporations", that's bs, who do they think the "rich corporations" will pass the tax onto?

[TheSarge]

Is it just me, or is this only going to make things worse? 

Piss off OPEC.  That's a great idea, Nancy.

They honestly don't care.

Piss off Big Oil and OPEC...the easier it is for the Libs to strong arm America into their Green Socialist Utopia.

[Lord Undies]

It is one of the most stupid moves ever.  It happened purely to impress the (ignorant) voting public.  I do not want to understand why the Republicans went along.

OPEC doesn't give a flying shit about the US congress.  OPEC is not beholden to or under the thumb of Nancy Sillyass Pelosi and her Circus of the Absurd.  The US oil companies don't really care either.  Washington needs the oil companies a hell of a lot more than the oil companies need Washington.  This will just increase the cost of doing business, and we know who pays for that.

Where is the mass publicity about how the democrats in congress - just last week - killed our domestic oil and coal reserves?  That should be the biggest news of the year.     

[Odin's Hand]

More "strongly worded" threats with little ability for enforcement of compliance from the Democrat majority.

[DixieBelle]

Oh FFS! We've been over this time and again! Nancy is such a liberal fool.

[Chris_]

Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act of 2008 - No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2008 or NOPEC  -

Amends the Sherman Act to make it illegal for any foreign state or instrumentality thereof to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state or any other person, when such action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of petroleum in the United States, to: (1) limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product (petroleum); (2) set or maintain the price of petroleum; or (3) otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for petroleum.

Denies a foreign state engaged in such conduct sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgements of U.S. courts in any action brought to enforce this Act.

States that no U.S. court shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this Act.

Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action in U.S. district court to enforce this Act.

Makes an exception to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state in an action brought under this Act.

Directs the Attorney General to establish in the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to, among other things, develop, coordinate, and facilitate the implementation of DOJ investigative and enforcement policies related to petroleum industry antitrust issues under federal law.

Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study evaluating the effects of mergers addressed in covered petroleum merger consent decrees on competition in the markets involved, including the effectiveness of divestitures required in such decrees in preserving competition in those markets.

[Chris_]

Vote results (with some interesting maps)

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2008-332&sort=district

[Uhhuh35]

This is San Fran Nans way of showing the world how stupid she is.

[RightCoast]

Pelosi: House Overwhelmingly Votes to Take Action to continue to drive the price of oil through the roof.

fixed

[formerlurker]

I have mixed feelings on this.   I don't give a flying fig about the feelings of OPEC -- they can kiss my ass.   They have oil, and that is about it --  so they kind of need us a great deal too.   Let them complain. 

It is an election year so you have to expect this.    $4/gallon, everything is out of control expensive because of it -- yeah, this totally was coming down the pike. 

Let's see where this ends up kids, it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

[Bluesuiter-Retired]

The dims/libs still don't get it.  OPEC hasn't been setting the prices of late, it is the SPECULATORS who have been setting the price.

Its all about demand and the greater demand is coming from China and India, all the more reason for the U.S. to be drilling and drilling and drilling on U.S. soil.

[formerlurker]

The bilateral trading relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia remains a friendly and successful one. The U.S. remains Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, and within the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner of the U.S. While oil and petrochemical products continue to be the top Saudi exports to the United States, the United States has made significant gains in the Saudi market over the years with an impressive number of joint ventures and an expanding volume of exports. U.S. exports to the Kingdom include such products as automobiles, computers, chemicals, engineering goods and machinery, and agricultural products.

The U.S. is the leading supplier of imports into the Saudi market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $6.8 billion, up from $5.2 billion the previous year. Total U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $27.7 billion, $26 billion of which were oil imports. In 2005, the top three U.S. states that exported to Saudi Arabia were Texas, New York and Florida. In 2005, exports from Texas to Saudi Arabia were valued at $1.1 billion, with exports from New York and Florida valued at $495 million and $463 million, respectively.

http://www.us-sabc.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3367


The U.S. is SA's biggest trading partner (imports and exports).    They aren't exactly immune from economic damage from a breakdown of that partnership.

[Lord Undies]

The bilateral trading relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia remains a friendly and successful one. The U.S. remains Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, and within the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner of the U.S. While oil and petrochemical products continue to be the top Saudi exports to the United States, the United States has made significant gains in the Saudi market over the years with an impressive number of joint ventures and an expanding volume of exports. U.S. exports to the Kingdom include such products as automobiles, computers, chemicals, engineering goods and machinery, and agricultural products.

The U.S. is the leading supplier of imports into the Saudi market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $6.8 billion, up from $5.2 billion the previous year. Total U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $27.7 billion, $26 billion of which were oil imports. In 2005, the top three U.S. states that exported to Saudi Arabia were Texas, New York and Florida. In 2005, exports from Texas to Saudi Arabia were valued at $1.1 billion, with exports from New York and Florida valued at $495 million and $463 million, respectively.

http://www.us-sabc.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3367


The U.S. is SA's biggest trading partner (imports and exports).    They aren't exactly immune from economic damage from a breakdown of that partnership.

Most everything they import can be found elsewhere.  I doubt they will need a camel's tail to wipe their tears.

[formerlurker]

The bilateral trading relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia remains a friendly and successful one. The U.S. remains Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, and within the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner of the U.S. While oil and petrochemical products continue to be the top Saudi exports to the United States, the United States has made significant gains in the Saudi market over the years with an impressive number of joint ventures and an expanding volume of exports. U.S. exports to the Kingdom include such products as automobiles, computers, chemicals, engineering goods and machinery, and agricultural products.

The U.S. is the leading supplier of imports into the Saudi market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $6.8 billion, up from $5.2 billion the previous year. Total U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia for 2005 were $27.7 billion, $26 billion of which were oil imports. In 2005, the top three U.S. states that exported to Saudi Arabia were Texas, New York and Florida. In 2005, exports from Texas to Saudi Arabia were valued at $1.1 billion, with exports from New York and Florida valued at $495 million and $463 million, respectively.

http://www.us-sabc.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3367


The U.S. is SA's biggest trading partner (imports and exports).    They aren't exactly immune from economic damage from a breakdown of that partnership.

Most everything they import can be found elsewhere.  I doubt they will need a camel's tail to wipe their tears.

They have to eat.   

They are already whining profusely about the cost of rice, which they claim they are being gouged on.

They need our grain as they can no longer grow it (unsafe water supply).   As the ME is the juggernaut for oil, North America holds the cards on grain.    Supply and demand and all that.   

We have an oil reserve.   They have sand.    We'll see who blinks first.

[Lauri]

I have mixed feelings on this.   I don't give a flying fig about the feelings of OPEC -- they can kiss my ass.   They have oil, and that is about it --  so they kind of need us a great deal too.   Let them complain. 

It is an election year so you have to expect this.    $4/gallon, everything is out of control expensive because of it -- yeah, this totally was coming down the pike. 

Let's see where this ends up kids, it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

its making it hard as hell to plan our year... we dont know where gas and food prices are going, so, we dont know if we can afford vacations this year..

granted, thats not a life and death situation, but we arent living so tightly that we cant afford to live if we have to pay 15 more bucks per fill up. although, i know it does affect us in a myriad of ways still..

Nancy and the Congress are really doing a bang up job in killing the economy.. i didnt think it was happening for the longest time. Now i see its just the Dems trying to crash the whole thing while Bush is in office to blame it on him... then their fearless leader Barack can ride in and save the day.

so predictable... and so scary.

[Lauri]

Vote results (with some interesting maps)

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2008-332&sort=district

I thought this was interesting...

No Vote   TX-14   Paul, Ronald [R]

it looks like most of the GOP voted no... they know how little it will actually affect anything.

[Chris_]

I did some poking around GovTrack.us... Dr. Nuts introduced a bill to repeal the Selective Service Act.

[Airwolf]

Yesterday Oil was at $129 per barrel,today it spiked to over $132. Thanks alot Skeletor.

[Lauri]

ok, so is it continuing to go up because people fear there is not much left? too many people need it?

something has got to give; we need to start putting our resources into our own country for a change... its way past time the Dems take their foot off the neck of the people.

[Airwolf]

As I said before Lauri your more right then you may think. I am wondering that since the promises of the Democrats to fix the rising cost of oil after the 06 elections had failed to come true just what kind of an effect this will have in the future when gas is at $4 dollars or more per gallon and people are looking at Nancy and asking her,

 "WTF happened to the promise you made on getting the price of oil back under control?"

[Lauri]

As I said before Lauri your more right then you may think. I am wondering that since the promises of the Democrats to fix the rising cost of oil after the 06 elections had failed to come true just what kind of an effect this will have in the future when gas is at $4 dollars or more per gallon and people are looking at Nancy and asking her,

 "WTF happened to the promise you made on getting the price of oil back under control?"

how is the media not asking Nancy any pointed questions? I pay hardly any attention to the woman, yet I know about the pronouncements she made about a 'woman needing to clean the House' .. and all her '100 days' promise to turn it all around.

granted, i know they dont want to shine a light on this - it would hurt the down ticket Dems.