Letter to President George W. Bush
Letter to President George W. Bush
September 7, 2005
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The drastic spike in gasoline prices has caused real concern and hardship across the country. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $3.04 this week, up nearly 40 percent from a year ago - with far higher prices in some communities -- and in many areas artificial price manipulation appears to be occurring. Price gouging cannot be tolerated.
We commend your decision to increase fuel supplies by tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but for millions of Americans and thousands of Vermonters, more leadership is required. Even before the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, escalating gasoline prices needed your immediate attention. Since September 2004 the average price of gasoline has risen $1.20 per gallon. Every penny-per-gallon increase costs consumers $1.5 billion and has an enormous impact on a variety of industries across the United States. Consumers, small businesses and commercial drivers are struggling to keep up with the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel. Last week, citing record-high jet fuel prices, the airlines tacked on a new fuel surcharge to airline tickets in the amount of $10 per ticket. In addition, the Department of Labor reported that wholesale prices increased one percent in July, double the expected increase; over the last twelve months producer prices have risen 4.6 percent, the fastest rate of increase in almost ten years.
More frustrating to consumers is the fact that they face these higher prices at the same time that the nation's largest oil companies and refiners are reporting record profits - much of it, in the form of windfall profits -- totaling tens of billions of dollars. This past quarter, the following companies reported the following earning increases: Exxon Mobil up 32 percent to $7.64 billion; Shell up 35 percent, to $5.34 billion; BP up 29 percent, to $5.66 billion; Conoco Phillips up 51 percent, to $3.14 billion.
America's fuel crisis continues to take an exorbitant toll on the hard-earned money of families, farmers, and businesses. Immediate Presidential leadership is needed to help solve this problem. We are concerned about the lack of transparency in the oil and gasoline markets. Without a real correction, consumers across the nation will continue to suffer. We therefore respectfully request that you take the following actions:
1) Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in consultation with the Department of Energy, to issue regulations requiring full disclosure by refiners and distributors of their wholesale motor fuel pricing policies, with a separate listing of each component contributing to prices, including the cost of crude oil, refining, marketing, transportation, equipment, overhead, and profit, along with portions of any rebates, incentives, and market enhancement allowances;
2) Direct the FTC to investigate the retail price of gasoline to determine if that price is being artificially manipulated;
3) Direct the FTC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Department of Justice to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets to protect the American people from price gouging and unfair practices at the gas pump.
These actions would help ensure the information necessary to determine if there are any illegalities in corporate pricing policies and provide consumers with the information they need to understand why they must pay record prices for gasoline while the industry, across the board, is enjoying record profits.
Thank you for your consideration as we work together in order to address this urgent concern for U.S. gasoline consumers.
Respectfully,
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator James Jeffords
Representative Bernie Sanders
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200509/090705.html