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Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008

Date: June 26, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Energy Natural Resources


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

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Mr. ETHERIDGE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in support of the Energy Market Emergency Act of 2008.

I don't have to tell anyone that gas prices have skyrocketed over the last several months. We can all remember when we thought $2 a gallon gas was high. Now we would like to return to that. Now it is on average over $4.

On June 6, the price of crude oil hit an all-time record of $139 per barrel. American families are paying an average of $4.07 for gasoline, double the price from 2001 when President Bush took over. Truckers and farmers are paying an average of $4.77 per gallon for diesel, triple the price from 2001 when the President took office.

There is clearly not just one factor leading to these outrageous prices. However, there is a growing concern that excessive speculation by investors could be a significant cause of the prices we are experiencing. North Carolina families are struggling to make ends meet, as are families all across the country. Congress must act to ensure speculators are not artificially raising energy prices for their own gain while hardworking Americans are suffering.

This legislation tells the CFTC, which is responsible for overseeing our energy markets, to use all other authority to ensure that excessive speculation is not occurring.

I can't blame them. When the price of crude oil spikes $10, folks really believe something is wrong. The House Ag Committee will conduct hearings in July to examine all of the various pieces of legislation to address this issue, including legislation that I have introduced called the Increasing Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008.

I believe after a careful review we can craft responsible legislation that can improve the price discovery function of these commodity markets. But no amount of CFTC authority will make a difference if the agency doesn't have the resources to do their job.

Since 2002, trading on the commodity markets has increased six times.

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