For the nation's top oilmen, it is a new and uncomfortable reality. They were summoned by the Republican leadership of the Senate and appeared this morning before two congressional panels to explain why prices climbed as high as they did and what they intend to do with their companies' soaring profits. The executives hope to persuade legislators not to take tough punitive action.
The hearing is an indication that big oil companies, which have received billions of dollars in tax breaks from Congress, are facing an increasingly hostile audience in Washington. Even some Republican lawmakers, whose party has long been sympathetic to the requests of the industry, are considering a windfall-profit tax for oil companies. Concerns mounted after oil companies recently reported record quarterly profits, including Exxon Mobil's $9.92 billion, up 75 percent from the third quarter last year.
At today's joint hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, being held at the request of Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Republicans intend to show that they can be tough with oil companies.
Democrats tried to show they could be tougher. They demanded that the executives from Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. be sworn in. That occurred when Congress held a hearing with oil executives in 1974 to explore energy shortages and high prices, resulting in front-page images of the officials with their right hands in the air. But Republicans refused to support that effort and the testimony went forward without taking any oaths.
Oil company executives hope that their explanations of how hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out a large amount of oil and gasoline production, creating tight supplies and resulting in commodities markets to send prices higher, will convince senators there was no price gouging and no manipulation. They will say the market worked because higher prices drove down demand, attracted imports of gasoline and prevented widespread shortages.
Okay, this is a sham hearing. Nothing will be done, and nothing important will be said in these hearings. The Republicans are playing "tough" by dragging these oil executives into these Congressional hearings, but they refused Democratic demands for the executives to be sworn in. So basically, the oil executives can say whatever they want. The Republicans know that the country is sour against their leadership in Washington, considering the dropping poll numbers and the disastrous special election yesterday. Their own political futures are tied with how they will govern in the next year, before the '06 election. There has been too much cozying up between the Republicans and big business special interests. So how do you distance yourself away from that?
You hold "Congressional hearings" with oil executives being called to testify before supposedly angry Republican congressmen who demand answers as to why oil companies profits have skyrocketed. This is nothing more than a big PR scam to make the Republicans seem like they're on the side of the average American. Nothing will be done about this, and the oil companies will continue getting their special interest tax breaks from those same "angry" Republicans.
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