WASHINGTON – On Monday, Republican leaders sent a letter to President Bush asking for an investigation into whether oil companies are “gouging” consumers and if market speculators are driving gasoline prices up, reports Reuters.
“U.S. retail gasoline prices are above $3 a gallon in many parts of the country and pump costs are forecast to keep rising. Republicans fear they could lose the Senate and House of Representatives in this November's congressional elections if voters retaliate against them for the high fuel prices,” writes the news source.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) are asking the president to direct the U.S. Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “to crack down on any potential price gouging,” notes Reuters.
“Anyone who is trying to take advantage of this situation while American families are forced into making tough choices over whether to fill up their cars or severely cut back their budgets should be investigated and prosecuted,” the letter said.
Republican leaders are also asking the Justice Department and the FTC to investigate refinery operations; fuel transportation through the pipelines, marine vessels and trucks; storing and marketing; and gasoline outages to determine whether “there is any manipulation of gasoline prices.” They wrote that “sweeps” of retail distribution centers should be conducted to determine whether retail pricing is in response to changes in market conditions and not “price gouging.”
Across the aisle, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) called the motives behind the Republican leadership’s gasoline price investigation a “scrambling for political cover” to ensure the party will not be accused of “turning a blind eye” to “soaring gasoline costs,” writes Reuters.
The DSCC said the GOP’s call to action lacks credibility because the party has “allowed oil and gas companies to line their campaign accounts with cash when they should have been cracking down on price gouging and rising gas prices.”
The FTC is currently conducting an investigation into gasoline price “gouging” as mandated last year following fall’s price spikes. Congress Daily reports that in an interim report to Congress last month and in private briefings with congressional staff, the FTC indicated it has cast “a broad net and used subpoenas” to collect information from nearly 200 U.S. oil companies and refinery operations. The inquiry was sought last year by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).
Congress Daily notes that the FTC said it has made “considerable progress” collecting information, adding that it is too early “to draw conclusions at this time.”