CEI Energy Expert to Testify Before Congress on Gas Prices
Washington, DC, June 13, 2001—Competitive Enterprise Institute senior policy analyst Ben Lieberman will appear before the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Thursday, June 14, on the topic of high gas prices. Mr. Lieberman will describe how excessive federal regulation has dramatically increased the price of gasoline to American consumers. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
“Evidence is emerging that the growing federal regulatory burden is having a substantial effect on gasoline prices and is a major factor in the volatility seen in recent years,” said Lieberman. “The regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act, which both dictate the composition of gasoline and place limits on refining infrastructure, are a major contributor to the high price of gasoline today.”
The hearing, being held by the Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs, is investigating the cause for unusually high prices this summer, and whether those prices are linked to the larger national energy crisis. Committee members are also responding to allegations of price-fixing in the oil industry.
“Most of the attention has focused on allegations of illegal conduct on the part of the oil industry,” said Lieberman. “Two Federal Trade Commission reports on previous gas spikes have been recently released and they have pointed away from industry conduct as the cause of gasoline price increases.”
Who: Ben Lieberman, Competitive Enterprise
Institute senior policy analyst
What: “Gasoline Supply – Another Energy Crisis?”
A hearing before the House Committee of
Government Reform, Subcommittee on Energy
Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory
Affairs
When: Thursday, June 14, 2001
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
Click here to read Mr. Lieberman’s prepared testimony.
CEI, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group founded in 1984, is dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. For more information, please contact Richard Morrison at [email protected] or 202-331-1010, ext. 266.