Lawmakers Urge Speaker Hastert to Investigate Skyrocketing Gas Prices, Possible Price-Gouging

Lawmakers Urge Speaker Hastert to Investigate Skyrocketing Gas Prices, Possible Price-Gouging

-Oil company profits increase as gas remains over $3.00 per gallon -

Eighty-eight Members of Congress led by U.S. Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), Bart Stupak (MI-1) and Stephanie Herseth (SD-At Large) today urged House Speaker Dennis Hastert to investigate skyrocketing gas prices and possible price-gouging. The lawmakers made their request in a letter to Hastert the same day as Exxon-Mobil reported that it earned $8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2006, an increase of 7% - the fifth highest quarterly profit for any public company in history. Yesterday, Conoco Phillips reported first quarter earnings of $3.29 billion, an increase of 13%.

"This is not a new problem - House Democrats have been saying since September that the oil companies are out of control," said DeLauro. "After a year of record-breaking profits, these oil executives must be called to account. The Senate has already called on oil executives to testify, but still no action has been taken in the U.S. House. What will it take for House Republicans to finally ask the hard questions of their political cronies."

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http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/April/hastert_letter_4_27_06.html