U.S. House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices

[babylonsister]

U.S. House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices

Tom Doggett
Reuters North American News Service

May 20, 2008 13:24 EST


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.

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

The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto.

The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.

"This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules, instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities," said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation.

more...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/05/us_house_passes_bill_to_sue_op.php

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Got a better idea. Why not pass a bill to regulate speculators who

monumentally increase the true market value by their game of fiduciary chicken.

[Eurobabe]

2. Good luck on that one.

Didn't the Saudis just tell DimSon to piss in the wind?

[Initech]

3. I hope something comes out of this.

Last time there investigations into the ridiculous gas prices, the result was "Move along, nothing to see here." :grr:

[sharesunited]

4. That's pretty ridiculous. Under what theory of jurisdiction?

If we want to break the speculative bubble, let the DOE sell futures delivery contracts against the Strategic Petroleum Reserve into these rally spikes. Then close out these positions on resulting declines. This will smack down the longs and we won't have to actually deliver out a single drop.

The USA does not need to produce any more oil. We just need to use our reserve in a market-savvy manner.

[Richard Steele]

7. Yes, it makes very little sense. nm

[Javaman]

5. Okay, so now the US will be able to sue another country over

how they regulate THEIR natural resource?

this is like a heroin user suing a dealer because the price is to high.

:banghead:

how about a bill telling the American public to USE LESS FUCKING OIL.

it's moments like this that make my brain really really hurt.

[eilen]

6. You mean the government is admitting

that the free market is (cough! ) unfair? Wadda bout supply and demand? Imagine that.

How about the American People suing it's government for abandonment of fiduciary responsibility? They have compromised the nation's security by consistently passing legislation in favor of oil companies and automotive companies (including our highway bills) as well as enabling corporations to offshore key industries across the globe and eliminating the practice of stockpiling food, thus locking us into a dependent relationship with unstable and fickle oil producing nations. If we are addicted to oil, our government is the dealer.