Blumenthal Calls for a Halt of Consolidation
By Sara Hatch
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 – Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Congress Wednesday for federal legislation to rein in the rising cost of gasoline, blaming much of the problem on the energy industry.
“If I have one message for you today it is: We need help.. We need help and we’re not getting it,” Blumenthal told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Blumenthal outlined a six-step plan to ameliorate the problems that are affecting many states, including Connecticut.
He called for a one-year moratorium on oil industry mergers; a joint federal-state investigation of the industry; more examination of mergers in highly concentrated markets; a ban on zone pricing, the selling of gasoline at prices that vary by location; expansion of refinery capacity and enacting of minimum inventory levels; and more work toward conservation and lessening dependence on oil.
In a written statement presented to the committee, Blumenthal agreed with President Bush’s remarks in his Tuesday State of the Union speech that America must wean itself from its addiction to oil.
“We are becoming more, not less, dependent on oil,” Bush said. “Many solutions to this dependence will also result in cleaner air, so we should pursue these goals with more vigor than ever.. We must increase our commitment of resources to development of alternative fuels and energy-efficient technologies such as fuel cells.”
The President also said that America can “move beyond a petroleum-based economy.and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.”
But Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, disagreed.
“I don’t think you can solve oil problems unless you solve problems with the oil companies,” Schumer said at the hearing. “The President said last night that Americans were addicted to oil, but this administration is addicted to oil companies, and we’re not going to achieve energy independence until the administrations breaks its addiction.”
Rep. John Larson (D-1, CT), who has been active in energy legislation, said in a statement that “consolidation has been a boon to the oil industry and a hardship on the American family. Such a basic necessity to our economy as fuel should not be concentrated in so few hands without some oversight replacing the controls of market competition.
“Americans are hurting from skyrocketing gas and oil prices while ExxonMobil and other corporations set record upon new record profits. Something must be done to help families, and that’s why I have called for a tax on these excess profits.”
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By Sara Hatch
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 – Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Congress Wednesday for federal legislation to rein in the rising cost of gasoline, blaming much of the problem on the energy industry.
“If I have one message for you today it is: We need help.. We need help and we’re not getting it,” Blumenthal told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Blumenthal outlined a six-step plan to ameliorate the problems that are affecting many states, including Connecticut.
He called for a one-year moratorium on oil industry mergers; a joint federal-state investigation of the industry; more examination of mergers in highly concentrated markets; a ban on zone pricing, the selling of gasoline at prices that vary by location; expansion of refinery capacity and enacting of minimum inventory levels; and more work toward conservation and lessening dependence on oil.
In a written statement presented to the committee, Blumenthal agreed with President Bush’s remarks in his Tuesday State of the Union speech that America must wean itself from its addiction to oil.
“We are becoming more, not less, dependent on oil,” Bush said. “Many solutions to this dependence will also result in cleaner air, so we should pursue these goals with more vigor than ever.. We must increase our commitment of resources to development of alternative fuels and energy-efficient technologies such as fuel cells.”
The President also said that America can “move beyond a petroleum-based economy.and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.”
But Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, disagreed.
“I don’t think you can solve oil problems unless you solve problems with the oil companies,” Schumer said at the hearing. “The President said last night that Americans were addicted to oil, but this administration is addicted to oil companies, and we’re not going to achieve energy independence until the administrations breaks its addiction.”
Rep. John Larson (D-1, CT), who has been active in energy legislation, said in a statement that “consolidation has been a boon to the oil industry and a hardship on the American family. Such a basic necessity to our economy as fuel should not be concentrated in so few hands without some oversight replacing the controls of market competition.
“Americans are hurting from skyrocketing gas and oil prices while ExxonMobil and other corporations set record upon new record profits. Something must be done to help families, and that’s why I have called for a tax on these excess profits.”
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