IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 299 

Expressing the sense of the House that the President should take immediate 

action to initiate measures to lower the burden of gasoline prices on 

the economy of the United States, prevent Members of the Organization 

of Petroleum Exporting Countries from reaping windfall profits on sales 

of oil to the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. BISHOP of New York submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 

the Committees on International Relations and Judiciary, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House that the President should 

take immediate action to initiate measures to lower the 

burden of gasoline prices on the economy of the United 

States, prevent Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from reaping windfall profits 

on sales of oil to the United States, and for other purposes. 

Whereas the price of crude oil and gasoline have a direct and 

substantial impact on the financial well-being of families 

of the United States, the potential for economic recovery, 

and for protecting the national security; 
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Whereas the United States currently imports the majority of 

its crude oil from foreign countries; 

Whereas the 11 countries that make up the Organization of 

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produce 40 percent of the world’s crude oil and control three-quarters 

of proven reserves, including much of the spare production capacity; 

Whereas despite the severely high sustained price of crude 

oil— 

(1) OPEC has refused to adequately increase production to calm global oil markets and officially abandoned its $22–$28 price per barrel target; and 

(2) officials of OPEC member nations have publicly 

indicated support for maintaining oil prices of $40–$50 

per barrel; 

Whereas on April 1,2005 the price of crude oil reached a 

record high of $57 per barrel and remains in the $50 

range; 

Whereas increases in the price of crude oil result in increases 

in prices paid by the United States consumers for refined 

petroleum products, including, gasoline, and diesel fuel, 

and home heating oil; 

Whereas increases in crude oil prices already have resulted in 

American consumers and families paying more for cost 

increases for gasoline at the pump, which reached an average national high of $2.28 a gallon in April 2005, and 

analysts predict that this level could continue throughout 

the summer driving season; 

Whereas increases in the costs of refined petroleum products 

have a negative effect on many Americans, including the 

elderly and low-income individuals (whose home heating 
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oil costs have dramatically increased in the last year), 

families who must pay higher prices at the gas station, 

farmers (already hurt by low commodity prices, trying to 

factor increased costs into their budgets in preparation 

for the growing season); truckers (who face an almost 

14-year high in diesel fuel prices), and manufacturers 

and retailers (who must factor in increased production 

and transportation costs into the final price of their 

goods); 

Whereas under current estimates, a family of four will spend 

$2,873 on gasoline this year, $423 more than last year 

and almost $800 more than two years ago, based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer 

Expenditure Survey and the Energy Information Administration; 

Whereas the President has failed to use a variety of tools at 

his disposal to provide gasoline price relief to working 

families, including proper management of the resources 

of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that could provide the United States with a way to counterbalance 

OPEC supply management policies; the President has not 

forcefully pressed all OPEC Member Countries to immediately increase oil production in order to lower crude oil 

prices and safeguard the world economy; 

Whereas the President declined to insist on measures to lower 

gasoline prices as he was encouraging Congress to enact 

the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and postponed introduction of alterative fuel and hybrid vehicle initiatives until 

after the House of Representatives passed the Energy 

Policy Act; 

Whereas the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy has determined that the President’s 
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energy bill will not reduce energy prices or reduce America’s dependence on imported oil, finding that provisions 

of the energy conference report of 2004 [substantially 

similar to the energy bill passed by the House in April, 

2005] would have a negligible impact on changes to production, consumption, imports, and prices, and that provisions would actually increase the price of gasoline by 3 

cents per gallon and would still increase United States 

dependence on foreign oil by 85 percent; 

Whereas Current policy of filling the SPR has exacerbated 

the rising price of crude oil and record high retail price 

of gasoline, and is unnecessary since the SPR is more 

than 98 percent full; and 

Whereas increasing vertical integration and consolidation of 

oil companies have allowed— 

(1) the 5 largest companies in the United States to 

control almost as much crude oil production as the middle Eastern members of OPEC, over 1⁄2 of domestic refiner capacity, and over 60 percent of the retail gasoline 

market; and 

(2) the top 10 oil companies in the world to make 

more than a record-setting $100,000,000,000 in profits 

in 2004, and announce first-quarter earnings that would 

put them on track to break that record in 2005: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

3 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that 

4 the President should directly communicate to the members 

5 of OPEC that— 
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1 (1) the United States believes that restricting 

2 supply in the growing market for crude oil does seri3 ous damage to the efforts that OPEC members have 

4 made to demonstrate that they represent a reliable 

5 source of crude oil supply; 

6 (2) the United States believes that stable crude 

7 oil prices and supplies are essential for strong eco8 nomic growth throughout the world; and 

9 (3) the United States seeks an immediate in10 crease in OPEC crude oil production quotas. 

11 SEC. 2. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE. 

12 (a) The President shall temporarily suspend further 

13 acquisitions of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Re14 serve through his administrative authority, thereby freeing 

15 up additional supply for the marketplace. 

16 (b) Further purchases of oil to the Strategic Petro17 leum Reserve shall be suspended immediately, thereby 

18 freeing up additional supply for the marketplace. 

19 (c) When and if prices decline substantially below the 

20 current high levels, any determination by the Secretary of 

21 Energy to resume purchases should follow the market22 based practices used prior to 2002; carry out and make 

23 public analyses of costs and savings when making or defer24 ring such acquisitions; take into account and report to 

25 Congress the impact the acquisition will have on the do-
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1 mestic and foreign supply of petroleum and the resulting 

2 price increases or decreases; and consult with the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security on the security consequences 

4 of such acquisition or deferral. 

5 (d) The existing statutory cap of 700,000,000 barrels 

6 of crude oil should not be increased while crude oil prices 

7 remain at current high levels. 

8 SEC. 3. GASOLINE MARKET ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICES. 

9 (a) The President shall direct the Federal Trade 

10 Commission and Attorney General to exercise vigorous 

11 oversight over the oil markets to protect the American 

12 people from price gouging and unfair practices at the gas 

13 pump, including, but not limited to exercising their au14 thorities under the federal antitrust laws to block anti15 competitive mergers of companies that explore for oil, own 

16 refineries, or act as wholesalers or retailers of gasoline or 

17 other petroleum products refined from oil. 

18 (b) In evaluating whether any combination of refiners 

19 violates the antitrust laws, the Commission or the Attor20 ney General shall not approve any combination that would 

21 create a highly concentrated market that would injure, de22 stroy, or limit competition. The evaluation should include 

23 the prospect of zone pricing, redlining, exporting oil to 

24 other countries, or withholding gasoline supplies from the 

25 market. 
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1 SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY IN OIL PRICING. 

2 The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with 

3 the Secretary of Energy, shall issue regulations requiring 

4 full disclosure by refiners and distributors of their whole5 sale motor fuel pricing policies, with a separate listing of 

6 each component contributing to prices, including the cost 

7 of crude oil (with exploration, extraction, and transpor8 tation costs shown separately if the refiner or distributor 

9 is also the producer of the crude oil), refining, marketing, 

10 transportation, equipment, overhead, and profit, along 

11 with portions of any rebates, incentives, and market en12 hancement allowances. 

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