House Ignores the Obvious on Gas Prices
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., May 9, 2007—Today’s House hearing on high gas prices manages to present a vitally important consumer issue while completely ignoring the true source of the problem. Promoted as an investigation into the effects of foreign supplies on the cost of oil and gas, the committee misses the array of government policies and restrictions enacted by Congress that impact energy prices far more dramatically.
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“If the leadership in the House wants to have an effect on high gas prices, they’ll support new domestic oil and gas exploration in areas under congressional moratorium,” said Myron Ebell, Director of Energy Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “In the global petroleum market, costs are determined by total supply. Congress can help expand that supply by lifting restrictions on development in the U.S. ”
“While members of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming are grandstanding on the economic toll of rising gas prices, Chairman Edward Markey and many other members of Congress are busy proposing global warming policies that would increase prices throughout the economy. Greenhouse gas emissions caps, renewable energy mandates, biofuels subsidies and a number of other proposals would, if adopted, raise energy costs dramatically for American consumers,” Ebell concluded..
Energy Experts Available for Interviews
Myron Ebell
Director of Energy Policy
202-320-6685
Iain Murray
Senior Fellow
202-331-2257
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