WHY didn't the REPUBLICANS do something about GAS PRICES, like the DEMOCRATS ARE NOW DOING?

Question

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/busines...

Congress probes oil industry, gas prices
Task force wants to know if mergers, stock buybacks linked to short supplies. Friday, May 18, 2007By H. Josef Hebert The Associated Press
Washington While oil companies blame soaring gasoline prices on unexpected refinery shutdowns, Congress is questioning whether industry mergers and investment decisions have erased a supply cushion.

The House Judiciary Committee's antitrust task force Wednesday opened the first of a number of hearings on oil industry concentration with its chairman noting that gasoline prices have soared well above $3 a gallon and asking, "How did we get into this mess?"

"Oil companies today are enjoying record profits, and while they could use those profits to invest in more production capacity, instead they use the money to buy back shares in the markets," complained Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., the panel's chairman.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who has crafted a bill that would make oil and gas price gouging a federal crime, questioned why gasoline prices soared even as crude oil prices dropped.

Industry experts and DOE's Energy Information Administration have cited an unusual number of refinery outages for the tight gasoline supply, resulting in higher prices. The agency this week said that as refineries get back on line, gasoline inventories are moving higher and that prices may begin to recede.

Consumer advocate Mark Cooper, who monitors energy industries at the Consumer Federation of America, said that despite huge increases in refinery profits, there have been no investments in refinery capacity.
While no refinery has been built since the 1970s, Felmy said, the industry has expanded existing refinery capacity at a pace equivalent to one new refinery a year over the last decade.

Conyers said one problem has been industry consolidation.

"In 1993 the five biggest refiners in the U.S. controlled 35 percent of the market. By 2004 they controlled 56 percent," he said, adding that in some regions a few refineries control the entire market.

"With this type of market structure, each individual refinery can limit capacity and drive up prices," said Conyers.

http://fe11.news.re3.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070516/ap_on_go_co/gasoline_prices

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/business/index.ssf?/base/business-9/1179479606153190.xml&coll=1

Answer 1

I love it when the millon/billonaires of the oil companies talk about how the market drives the price of gas. What a joke. Somewhere in some nondiscript office building in some semi-big city there is a group of men deciding what the price of gas is going to be. Or better yet, deciding just how far up they can push the price of gas before the American public starts demanding that Washington get off it's collective behinds and does something about it. Watch...with all the fits people are pitching the price of gas will go down in the next week or two....and will continue to fall a couple of cents at a time until we quit demanding that something is done about the price fixing that is going on. And the price will drop again next year right before elections....after reaching record highs this summer. Mean while oil companies will continue to post record profits each and every quarter .... even as the price drops. Congress can probe all they want. Everyone knows that if the oil companies aren't price fixing the feds, as well as state governments are slapping additional taxes on each and every gallon which also jacks prices!

Talk all you want about "tree huggers" and "lack of refineries" the bottom line is they can charge it because they are so connected in Washington it would take an act of Congress to lower prices to the place they belong.

They say that the higher the demand the higher the price. But the higher the deamand for DVD players the lower the price. In 1990 I paid $600 for a VCR (really nice one from Sears). I replaced that VCR in 2000 with one that had all the same features, was smaller and lighter for $60. So why am I paying $3.10 a gallon for the same gas I paid $.99 in 1998? or $1.59 in 2000? They can produce the gas faster, cleaner and safer than ever before, I respect their right to make a honest profit. I don't however respect their right to for all intents and purpose rob us of what little disposable income we have so that we can get to work, school and the grocery store. Do you realize that the price of fuel is impacting the price we pay at the grocery store as well as resturants as a fuel surcharge? I'm glad that Washington is at the very least attempting to look into the oil industry...but until our oil owning president is out of office I don't expect any real relief or action.

Answer 2

Yea, we have all seen what the new Democrat Congress has done to gasoline prices.

In Janurary , 2007 gasoline cost $2.18 a gallon

In May, 2007 gasoline cost $3.12 a gallon.

Way to go Democrats !!!!!!!!!!

And there have been 8 government and Congressional investigations into the price of gasoline and price fixing in the last 20 years.

All 8 of them, never found a single thing wrong, they all concluded that it was market forces driving the price of gasoline.

So why would you expect it to be different this time ?

Answer 3

I think that there are a couple of incidents that have led to
the increase of gasoline prices.

1.) Hurricane Katrina damaged some of the refineries in the
Gulf region

2.) The explosion at the BP refinery in Texas in 2005

3.) The Democrats do not want us to drill for any of the
estimated 8 trillion barrels of shale oil that exists in
the United States

4.) Al Gore sold half of the government petroleum reserves
to Occidental Petroleum (Elk Hills, CA)

Answer 4

When the dems do more than a probe I will believe they are doing something. Congress is real good about doing fact finding missions, probes and investigations but rather weak on actually doing anything. A lot of probes and what not are just political plays and nothing more.

Answer 5

What are you talking about. Gas prices have gone up 11 cents just this past week. We may see gas at close to 4 dollars a gallon soon. P.S. The democrats have controlled the congress and the senate since January. What are THEY going to do about high gas prices?

Answer 6

As an independent contractor that now pays around 60+ dollars every time I fill up the ol' truck - I implore you to ask this question at a time when the democrats actually DO something about these ridiculous prices.

"Well done is better than well said." Ben Franklin

Answer 7

I haven't seen a thing from the Dem Congress since they took over Jan 4th! Honestly, what have the Dems done since Jan?
ANOTHER probe? Geeeesh, isn't this like the 10th probe over the past few years? After every probe is concluded, nothing has been done.

Answer 8

Gee didn't ole nancy say they were going to FIX everything??? Way to go nancy. Maybe if the Dem's and tree hugger's cared about America, they would have let us drill and build refinery's and built nuke plants. BUT NO.

I remember when the Alaskan pipeline was being built. They all jumped around saying "Your going to kill the animals and Caribou's" What happened???? We now have MORE caribou's and they love the heat from the pipeline.

Gee and I thought the Dem's were all caring and loved all living things. Remember it was the Republicans that pushed that pipeline through and we saved the animals of Alaska.

Answer 9

Please enlighten us, just what are the Dems doing to lower gas prices? Are you talking about the Dems who for 30 years have blocked every attempt to build more refineries. to drill for oil anywhere on land or sea, who have refused to allow more nuclear power plants to be built. Name a few examples of what they did to lower gas prices.

Answer 10

Do what, cut gas taxes?

You fail to understand the difference between politics and what it takes to effect real change.

The market will decide dude. It always does and it is much bigger than anything Congress can control. Government does not control the economy. When will Libbies get this through their thick skulls.? All government can do is cut taxes, otherwise, they just need to get out of the way and let the market take its course. Government tends to screw up anything it touches with regard to the free market.