March 07, 2005

Wyden Calls on White House to Pressure OPEC Before Upcoming Meeting

New Report Ties Gasoline Prices to Crude Oil Spikes

Mr. Wyden: Mr. President, with crude oil prices at almost $54 a barrel and OPEC meeting in nine days, I have come to the floor this afternoon to urge the administration to pursue what they promised, and that is to stand up for our consumers who are facing high oil and gasoline prices. The news just this last weekend was not good on the pricing front as it relates to the American consumer. The Lundberg survey of American gasoline prices came out Monday and confirmed what a lot of Americans suspected. The price of gas is rising high, and it is rising fast. According to the survey that came out Sunday, the price of gasoline has risen nearly seven cents per gallon in the last two weeks across the board for all grades. And the Lundberg survey says this is just the beginning, that higher prices are on the way. Now last week, Mr. President and colleagues, I asked the u.s. secretary of energy, Mr. Bodman, whether he was going to do what the administration promised, and that is to stand up for the consumer and try to push OPEC as hard as possible to get some pricing relief when they meet in a few days. Mr. Bodman said in response to my questions, that he hadn't made that call. And, well, he had a whole lot on his plate. I don't think that's good enough, Mr. President and colleagues. I think that we've got to ask this administration and the president specifically about using their political capital now to stand up for the American consumer who is getting clobbered by these gasoline and oil prices. If they're not going to use it now, when are they going to use it? Why not use it on behalf of American consumers when there is such a demonstrable cause and effect between the price of crude oil rising and the price of gasoline rising?Over the weekend, the secretary of the treasury, secretary snow said that rising energy prices have the potential to stifle economic growth in the near future. Maybe secretary snow is willing to get on the phone with OPEC if secretary Bodman won't. But I know somebody ought to be doing it, and that's exactly what the president of the united states promised in 2000. He said that if the country elected him, he'd push OPEC very hard to try to turn on the spigot and get some pricing relief.OPEC is making all the usual noises that they're concerned about the rising prices and they think the market has plenty of oil. As I've said before, OPEC is going to look out for OPEC. The question is whether this administration is going to stand up for the American consumer as they promised in 2000. If the secretary isn't going to pick up the phone and do that, I think the American people deserve a better answer than to just say, well, gosh, I've got a whole lot on my plate. If your average American didn't send their tax return in on April 15, saying, gosh, I've got a lot on my plate, I don't think that would be acceptable, not to this administration, not to me, not to anybody. So the excuse doesn't wash when it comes to the energy department's duty to go to bat against high oil prices either. We need here at home on a bipartisan basis and as it relates to OPEC abroad, to stand up for our consumers who are getting faced with escalating energy price that is seem to go up by the day. I don't think it's right to let OPEC run roughshod over the American consumer, and we make no comment other than to say, gosh, we've got a lot on our plate. Nine days from now OPEC is going to meet. Time is ticking away. But there is still time, Mr. President, for the administration to deliver on what they promised to the American people. That's to protect our consumers from high oil and gasoline prices. I urge that they take just that action. And if Mr. Bodman won't do it, as he indicated last Thursday, maybe somebody else in the bush administration will. Mr. President, I yield the floor.