Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008

ENERGY MARKETS EMERGENCY ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2008)

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation that we bring to the floor today along with my colleagues, Mr. Peterson, I thank him for his leadership, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Larson.

What is it about? It's about stopping the excessive energy commodity speculation that has driven up the price of gasoline by as much as 30 percent, according to independent economists.

Last October, the Government Accountability Office issued a report indicating that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission did not have the resources and the authority that it needed to protect the American people. When the report was issued, a gallon of gas cost on average $2.90. Today in my State of Connecticut, gas costs $4.37 a gallon. Commodity prices have skyrocketed in the past 5 years, but those unprecedented price spikes cannot be explained entirely by increased demand from China and India or the dollar's valuation.

So what is the cause? Independent economists point to one significant culprit: unregulated speculation in our futures markets. A May 2008 International Monetary Fund report agrees. Professional investors have purchased contracts for more than a billion barrels of petroleum essentially adding eight times as much demand for oil as the U.S. has added to its Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the last 5 years. The CFTC should be the cop on the beat protecting American consumers by putting a halt to out-of-control speculation. Unfortunately, the CFTC may be partly to blame for allowing loopholes and opening up exemptions.

The resolution before us today is simple. It directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use its emergency powers granted by Congress under section 4a of the Commodity Exchange Act to investigate excessive speculation in any contract market within the CFTC's jurisdiction and take the necessary action to eliminate excessive speculation that is artificially inflating gas prices.

What the CFTC needs to do is to use its powers to close the Enron loophole, to end the London-Dubai foreign border trade loophole. I urge my colleagues to support this effort. What it essentially does is restore sanity to the markets, and it provides consumers with the relief that they need in order to be able to continue to lead their lives and not be forced to make choices of whether to not buy gasoline for their cars and put food on the table or other things to take care of their families.

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