As we are fully aware, the challenges facing the Secretary and the Clinton Administration will not be readily overcome. Thousands of households and businesses across New York, New England and elsewhere are facing sky high fuel bills they cannot afford to pay. And many of our citizens on fixed incomes must choose between eating and staying warm. It is impacting our economy. A hearing on OPEC and the Northeast Energy Crisis on February 10th before this Committee clearly demonstrated that OPEC s goal of reducing its oil stocks was the major reason behind large-scale price increases for heating oil and diesel oil stocks.
Oil prices are higher today than at any time since the Iraq invasion of Kuwait a decade ago.
Earlier this week it was reported that average gasoline prices across our nation have risen six cents over the past two week period, the largest such increase since 1990. Production cutbacks decreed by the producer cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, have caused worldwide stocks, including those in the U.S., to be drawn down to extremely low levels. This imbalance has resulted in the sharp climb in heating oil and diesel prices over the past year. Several key oil producing nations relied on this country s military for their protection in 1990 and 1991 and these nations in the Persian Gulf still depend on the U.S. for their security, but in the view of this member a continuation of the present policies put in place at the meeting OPEC Ministers in March and September of last year threatens the relationship that many of the OPEC nations enjoy with this country. Over the past several weeks my offices here and in New York State have received numerous calls and letters asking how it could be that the very nations we helped in their hour of peril are repaying us with sky-high energy bills and shocks to our economy that are still being felt throughout the Northeast and the rest of the country.