"For And By Big Oil" -- Joint House and Senate Democratic Report

[understandinglife]

While consumers are facing pain at the pump, Big Oil is raking in outrageous record profits and passing out multi-million dollar retirement packages. These record gasoline prices and profits are the direct result of more than five years of failed policies of the Bush Administration. Bush Republican energy policies were designed for and by special interests. After developing their energy policy in secret, the Cheney Energy Task Force’s agenda has served the financial interests of the energy industry while consumers have suffered.

Now, five years later, consumers are wondering why prices are so high while profits continue to break records. In light of these high prices, President Bush and Bush Republicans are scrambling to run away from this failed record. Their latest proposals are just more of the same. The same policies that will protect billion dollar tax breaks for Big Oil, the same failed drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and the same unnecessary environmental rollbacks. Republicans have offered sham proposals to give the appearance that they have changed their minds on energy subsidies, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fuel efficiency standards, and cracking down on price gouging, along with some inadequate proposals for consumers and on energy independence.

Democrats know that we must move the country in a new direction. It is time to stand up to Big Oil and protect consumers from price gouging and supply manipulation that is artificially driving up the price of gasoline. It is time to end the billion dollar tax giveaways to Big Oil. Democrats are also fighting to break our dependence on foreign oil by making the real investments in alternative fuels, reducing our use of foreign oil and working to put alternative fuel vehicles on the road.

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Democrats Have a Comprehensive Approach for Relief Today and Energy Independence by 2020

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Full report: http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/pdf/ForAndByBigOil.pdf

If folk have trouble reading the .pdf and if anyone can provided advice regarding copyright, I'd happily post the full text of the report in a series of "comments."


Peace.

[understandinglife]

1. Cantwell, Feinstein Press for Public Release of Enron Evidence,

Cantwell, Feinstein Press for Public Release of Enron Evidence,
Citing Implications for Oil Markets

t r u t h o u t | Press Release

Tuesday 02 May 2006

Ex-Enron traders still exploiting loopholes to pull in millions; release of sealed evidence could help expose trading strategies.

Washington, DC - US Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) today called on federal energy regulators and the Department of Justice to ensure the timely public release of evidence acquired during the government's ongoing Enron investigation.

The senators, both members of the Senate Energy Committee, submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the evidence as part of their effort to prevent future market manipulation schemes in energy trading, including highly volatile oil and gasoline markets. In the absence of much needed consumer protections, former Enron traders-who played a central role in artificially inflating electricity rates throughout the West prior to Enron's collapse-continue to make millions in unregulated energy markets at the expense of American consumers.

"It's now clear that fraud and manipulation were a major part of the West Coast energy crisis in 2001. Thirty-two companies have already pleaded guilty or settled $6 billion in claims. Yet, many of the same traders who rigged the market are still trading energy commodities," Senator Feinstein said.

"As an example, according to media reports, one of the Enron traders who booked $750 million in natural gas contracts in 2001, subsequently started Centaurus Energy, a hedge fund company that trades energy commodities. When he was asked during a deposition about whether he had ever manipulated the Western energy markets while at Enron, he took the 5th Amendment and refused to answer. This man was never prosecuted, and is now trading energy commodities that are not subject to federal oversight.

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Link: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050206T.shtml

And, and pushes for Arctic drilling irrespective of the fact that the Department of Energy, and others, have made it absolutely clear that that resource can, at best, provide 1 - 2 % of .


If You're pro-Bu$h, You're Anti-America