As Congress last week headed into the Memorial Day recess, the Senate held yet another hearing to “get to the bottom of high energy prices.” One after another, Judiciary Committee members grilled oil company executives “on their roles” in the rising cost of fuel for their constituents. The Institute for Energy Research (IER) submitted the following ten questions for Judiciary Committee members who participated in the hearing:

1. Do you understand the fundamental economic principle of supply and demand for commodities pricing in the oil market?

2. Oil is a global commodity, bought and sold on the world market. Given that the nine largest private oil companies hold less than 5% of the entire world’s proven oil reserves, isn’t it more likely that the law of supply and demand is “manipulating” current prices than the five corporations represented at your witness table?

3. As a U.S. senator, you have control over oil production on U.S. federal government lands. Taxpayers own these lands and the energy that lies beneath them, but 97% of the federal OCS and 94% of onshore government lands are not being used. Are you willing to help increase the world’s supply of oil -- and thus reduce the price of oil and gasoline -- by allowing more U.S. energy to be produced from these lands?

4. The corporations represented at the hearing today produce roughly two million barrels of oil per day in America, for American consumers, with an American workforce. How many barrels of American oil, based on Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates, have each of you voted to produce?

5. How often have each of you voted against supplying American consumers with 10.4 billion barrels of oil from ANWR, 85 billion barrels of oil from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and 2 trillion barrels of oil shale in the West?

6. For those of you who have voted to restrict American energy supplies, especially during periods of increased demand, how are your actions any different than those that you have frequently ascribed to OPEC?

7. The sum of the American resources noted in question five is 2.095 trillion barrels of oil. The total proven oil reserves in the entire world is 1.3 trillion barrels. Which number is bigger?

8. As the gap between supply and demand expands, oil prices increase, and oil company profits rise. What’s the best way for oil company executives to send the entire U.S. Congress a “thank you” note for keeping energy supplies down and corporate profits up?

9. At today’s prices, the United States is sending $1.5 billion overseas -- per day -- to import oil from foreign countries. Do you think it would be a good idea to spend at least a fraction of that sum producing oil here in the United States?

10. When was the last time you filled up your own gas tank?

Off the top Ace, (1) The United States should be energy self-sufficient, and we can at any time do so. (2) Congress has exempted drilling in many oil rich off shore areas, in areas of Alaska, halted shale development, and put the lid on enough natural gas in this country that can provide sufficient supplies for decades to come. (3) To your notation #9, the money that is going overseas as you noted, builds these countries up, and the result is that they consume from us by sending, money, and products back in any number of international trade agreements, treaties, and some as allies, act to support our interests in that part of the world-or so notes public relations at the State Department. Also, in some countries, with extremely large populations, this money acts to control, and to some extent stabilize the populations from over turning, and dumping their governments. This can give us different sorts of headaches and problems, as is evident today.


Do believe we should take the course of oil/energy independence, with what we already have, help out our Allies, and do alternative fuels, like build more oil refineries, add more atomic plants, and hydrogen fuel cell development. Solar roofs are nice, and if you are close enough Ace, will stick an electrical plug in your outlet! This means, that eventual $4, 5, 6, and 10 plus gas will be no more. Presently, we are in the process of dumping about 500 million plus boats, planes, cars, trucks, busses, and so on for new energy efficient modes of transportation. These actions will alter our present economic slump, and restart our economic system again to the positive-new plants, steel plants perhaps, and other manufacturing here, if an internal workforce is promoted-a complete change, and challenge to outsourcing. Just another economic cycle, but quite costly, and emotionally depleting to those of us here at present. Clearly, present energy crisis not very well thought out, defined, nor currently sells to the public. Especially, that environmental issues are the hold-up on oil production, or other energy producing sources. See news today where some of the most recent national polls, Gallop asked these questions, and noted that people have overwhelmingly voiced their unanimous approval to drill for oil and gas anywhere, even in the Congress itself-a lot of untapped gas there too-unfortunately.

Hey, tap all that hot air and you have enough power to power the entire eastern seaboard!!!

That says it all.

excellent post, as always, Ace.

Now how do we get the fuckin' idiots in Washington to LISTEN!?!?

Congress is in a self-protective posture lately-hmmm, more like a few decades, which more than explains, and demonstrates their collective intransigence, and passiveness-with their do nothing attitude. This current do-nothing attitude has resulted in some very low, and unpopular public ratings for work being done in Congress, and our other leaders. It appears, unfortunately that this behavior is definitely controlled by the social economic climate/wind, i.e., whenever it blows, or doesn't Congress seems to act-maybe! What will happen (crystal ball now fully illuminated) to motivate these folks? Perhaps, the fact that when gas prices stop the natural flow of production, distribution, and consumption, whatever remedy is needed to return the country to balance will occur. Till then -Ouch! (Love that $4.95 gas today here-do it to me more, and harder!)