According to the Washington Post:
Hastert and Frist's letter comes amid charges by some consumer groups and Democrats that oil companies have manipulated refineries and oil inventories to drive up prices. Hastert also took aim at the rich pay package for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s retired chief executive, which he called "unconscionable."..."The speaker is very concerned about compensation packages given to executives like Raymond at a time when families are facing choices between putting food on the table and filling their car with gasoline."Senator Bill Nelson of Florida added:
"...Americans are frustrated, and sick and tired of billion-dollar giveaways to the oil companies, while the price of gas goes through the roof...America must act now, before soaring prices and a dependence on foreign oil puts a chokehold on our economy and military."And yet so far, President Bush has done nothing about the issue, claiming essentially there's nothing to the charges of price gouging, and proposing only continued investment in fuel cells and increasing research funding for hybrid drive systems. This is all well and good, but does nothing to solve the crisis now. And it is a crisis. We live in a culture utterly dependent on fossil fuels and until the alternate fuel technologies are mature and cost-effective, something needs to be done to ensure our continued economic stability. As Treasury Secretary John Snow commented,
"High energy prices -- including prices at the pump -- act like a tax on the American economy."Allowing the price of gas to continue climbing unchecked is setting us up for consequences we may not be prepared to deal with in the long term.
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Politics, White House, President Bush, Bush, gas, oil, gas prices, price gouging, Exxon, Lee Raymond, energy, fuel, Hastert, Frist, ExxonMobil
