Sen. Ron Wyden Holds a News Conference On Gas Prices

Extract

---

Sen. Ron Wyden Holds a News Conference On Gas Prices

SEN. WYDEN HOLDS A NEWS CONFERENCE ON GAS PRICES

JUNE 11, 2007

SPEAKER: SEN. RON WYDEN, D-ORE.

[*] WYDEN: No filibusters on a Monday, especially early. And let me just make a few comments about the situation with respect to gasoline prices and then throw it open to questions.

At every coffee shop in America, our people are now asking: Why are gasoline prices so high and what can be done to provide relief to the consumer?

As the Senate turns to the energy bill this week, I want to provide some answers to those questions.

Gas prices, in my view, are high for several reasons.

First, worldwide consumption is way up.

Second, OPEC is cutting supply.

And third, the American oil industry has engaged in a deliberate strategy to merge, consolidate and shut down what they term excess capacity for refining oil into gas. And the American oil industry has been doing this for years and years.

Let me just read to you from an internal Texaco document that I obtained a number of years ago, and I'll quote here.

"As observed over the last few ye...

See the full content of this document

---