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For Immediate Release:
October
9, 2002 |
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Energy Bill Fails To Reduce America's Dependence on
Oil: Consumers Will Pay The Price For Bill's Shortsighted
Policies
Congress
is about to pass a bill that won't make the U.S. less
dependent on oil and other fossil fuels, won't reduce the
price of a gallon of gas, and won't replace oil from Iraq,
according to a report released today by U.S. PIRG.
The new
U.S. PIRG report, Pumping
Up the Price: How the Energy Bill Moves America in the Wrong
Direction, describes how, despite the environmental,
consumer, and economic problems with oil dependence, Congress
is allowing big oil to drive America's energy policy toward
greater consumption and higher prices.
"This
energy bill fails to reduce America's dependence on oil and
shortchanges consumers, leaving them at the mercy of large oil
companies. Although some may say that America needs a
comprehensive energy bill as we face the possibility of going
to war with Iraq, the American public should not be fooled,"
said Anna Aurilio, U.S. PIRG Legislative Director. "This bill
will increase oil consumption and fails to protect consumers
from gasoline price spikes and price gouging. Congress should
kill this bill," she concluded.
"By 2013,
increasing fuel economy standards could save 30 percent more
oil than we imported from Iraq in 2001, but Congress passed up
a golden opportunity to make our cars go farther on a gallon
of gasoline and put us on the road to energy independence,"
said Aurilio.
The U.S.
PIRG report also describes how the numerous recent mergers of
big oil companies allow the companies to gouge consumers at
the gas pump. "Not only are they able to control the
marketplace, but they are also taking advantage of unexpected
gas price spikes by withholding supplies," said Aurilio.
"Congress should focus on corporate accountability and expand
the merger review authority of the Federal Trade Commission to
prohibit bad corporate actors from withholding supplies during
a crisis. This energy bill does nothing to address these
issues," added Aurilio.
Some
members of Congress claim that this bill will decrease
America's dependence on oil, especially Iraqi oil, by 5
billion gallons by the year 2012. However, U.S. PIRG's report
points out that that the Bush Administration's Department of
Transportation estimates that a loophole extended in the
legislation will increase gasoline consumption by 9 billion
gallons. This means that the bill will have the net effect of
increasing oil consumption by as much as 4 billion
gallons.
According
to the Bush Administration's Energy Information
Administration, the U.S. imported around 130,000 barrels of
oil from Iraq last month—less than 1.5 percent of American
imports. Canada and Mexico together supply more oil to the
U.S. than the entire Persian Gulf.
"The last
thing America needs is an energy bill that shortchanges
consumers and the environment to reward big oil and power
companies," said Aurilio. "Congress should reject this
dangerous and dirty bill."
U.S.
PIRG is the national lobbying office for the state Public
Interest Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit,
non-partisan public interest advocacy
organizations.
