If you’ve filled up your gas tank recently, you’re aware that prices have been going through the roof. They’ve gone from about $2.29 a gallon to approximately $3.00 a gallon in what seems like no time. Is there anything that can be done to reverse this trend? As a matter of fact, there is.
Congress needs to pass a bill I introduced this week called NOPEC (the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act.) That’s kind of a mouthful, so let me explain what it’s all about – and how it will help.
First of all, OPEC consists of fourteen oil producing nations that have had a stranglehold over much of the world’s oil production for years now. They are: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Indonesia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. OPEC also sometimes works with a number of other non-OPEC countries like Russia, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Sudan, and convinces them to join their schemes to raise prices. OPEC gets all these countries to agree to reduce or limit their production of oil, to artificially jack up the world price of oil, and therefore jack up the price you pay at the pump. And it works.
If these OPEC nations were American companies, they would be in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act for colluding together to artificially manipulate and control the price of oil. But they’re not American companies – they’re sovereign nations, and therefore they’ve been able to get away with their manipulation of the price of oil.
What my legislation, NOPEC, would do, is make it illegal for any country to act collectively with other countries to limit the production, or supply, of oil in order to set or control the price of oil. And it authorizes the Attorney General of the United States and the Justice Department to file a lawsuit in U.S. federal court against those countries who violate the law.
I had introduced identical legislation on a number of occasions over the years, and it passed several times in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed similar legislation, but often added something that was unacceptable to the House (like climate control provisions), and neither the Bush nor Obama Administrations were very enthusiastic.
The good news is, President Trump has signaled that he is supportive of this long overdue idea, so we might just get it across the finish line this time. We had a hearing in a Judiciary subcommittee last week, and it looks like I’ll have several Democratic co-sponsors of the bill, so that increases the chance for its passage.
There’s no question that higher gas prices are hurting an awful lot of Americans, particularly middle and lower income folks. As a matter of fact, it’s estimated that the recent run-up in gas prices is wiping out about a third of the additional take home pay many people were receiving as a result of the recent tax cut legislation.
As far as I’m concerned, that’s just unacceptable. It’s my intention to keep fighting for passage of this common sense legislation which could benefit so many Americans.