House passes Kagen's bill to take on oil cartels

WASHINGTON — Nearly three-quarters of the House voted for Rep. Steve Kagen's bill Tuesday to allow the U.S. government to sue the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for manipulating supplies and prices.

The vote was 324-84 with all eight Wisconsin House members supporting the measure. It comes a few days before Congress starts its Memorial Day recess and constituents kick off the summer driving season with pump prices pushing $4 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

Kagen's bill incorporates the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) bill that sailed through the House in May 2007 on a 345-72 vote. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., got a version of NOPEC through a Senate committee but has been unable to advance it to the Senate floor.

Kagen, D-Appleton, calls his bill the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act. In addition to amending the Sherman Antitrust Act, Kagen's bill would require the Justice Department to create a task force charged with policing the U.S. market for practices that limit energy production and manipulate prices.

OPEC members currently cannot be sued under federal antitrust laws because they classify their oil sales as a governmental rather than commercial activity. Kagen's bill would make it illegal for foreign countries to engage in any action that restricts the trade or sale of oil and natural gas. Foreign countries accused of such actions would not be able to invoke sovereign immunity to avoid lawsuits.

The bill also would require a study of past mergers and changes in the U.S. oil industry to determine what effect they have had on prices for consumers.

The bill's future is murky.

Last year's version is still pending in the Senate under a veto threat from President Bush. The White House said the president would veto the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act if it makes it to his desk.

Opponents question whether the legislation, if it became law, would survive challenges before the World Trade Organization as an impingement on trade. There also are concerns that U.S. efforts to sue any OPEC member, particularly the largest producer Saudi Arabia, would result in OPEC reducing oil sales to the United States.

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/APC0101/805210531/1979/APCnews

Dr. Kagen we are honored to have you represent our state :patriot:

Is there hope for him after all, or is he just grandstanding? He probably feels that this administration will never file suit anyway. But next year, Attorney General Edwards just might approve doing so.

:hi:

and Kohl proposed a similar bill which is stuck in the Senate. Kohl seems to be coming around in his last term. Sensenbrenner I don't know about. But I really appreciate Kagen for actually trying to do something about the issue that is affecting everyone. I haven't heard a single word about high gas prices from my rep or many others.

:hi:

House passes oil antitrust task-force bill

Nick Snow
Washington Editor

WASHINGTON, DC, May 20 -- The US House passed, by a vote of 324 to 84, a bill that would create a new oil antitrust task force within the Department of Justice. Supporters of HR 6074, which also would give DOJ authority to sue foreign oil cartels for violating US antitrust laws, included 103 Republicans, according to its sponsor Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.).

"Until we finally have an energy policy other than drill-and-burn, this bill will begin to set things right for the American people. We cannot drill or grow our way out of this energy crisis. We must begin to think differently in America. That includes loosening the stranglehold other nations have on our economy and exploring new forms of energy," he said following the vote.

The new "Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force" would be charged with determining the existence and extent of gasoline price gouging, anticompetitive price discrimination by refiners, actions to inflate prices by constraining supplies, and possible oil price manipulation in futures markets, Kagen said. The bill, which would amend the Sherman Antitrust Act, also requests a Government Accountability Office study on the effects on competition of prior oil industry mergers and divestitures, he indicated.

"This legislation will address the loopholes and exemptions that oil companies exploit at the great expense of our citizens," Kagen said. "By passing the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, the House agrees that it is time to give US authorities the ability to prosecute the anticompetitive conduct committed by international cartels that restricts supply and drives up prices."

http://www.ogj.com/display_article/329431/7/ONART/none/GenIn/1/House-passes-oil-antitrust-task-force-bill/



Texas Oil Analyst Says OPEC Vote Flawed
5/20/2008

Today's 324-84 vote by Congress to allow a lawsuit against OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, sets up the ability for U.S. Antitrust-style court action to be taken.

"It will work against, rather than for the interest of oil consumers. It's a wrong move," says Bob Tippee, Editor of Oil & Gas Journal. "I think it's more of the silly policy-making we see in Washington D.C. these days."

The bill means OPEC oil producers, including Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia would be subject to the same antitrust laws U.S. companies follow.

"It shows a gross misunderstanding of the oil market and OPEC's role in it. It sets up a false dragon display," Tippee argues. "The supposition is that OPEC is producing far less than it could be producing, and that is blatantly false."

The bill's sponsor, Congressman Steve Kagen (D-Wisconsin), tells Reuters, and Yahoo news, it "guarantees oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules, instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities."

The U.S. Senate would still have to approve the measure.

http://www.590klbj.com/News/Story.aspx?ID=91698

And it sounds like I have a good chance of having him come here (my house) again for a house party!:)

Woo hoo!:bounce: