warpedskydiver 0 #1 April 25, 2006 Bush Orders Probe Into Gas Price Cheating By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour ago President Bush speaks to supporters at a fundraising luncheon ... WASHINGTON - President Bush, under pressure to do something about gasoline prices that are expected to stay high through the summer, has ordered an investigation into possible cheating in the markets. During the last few days, Bush asked his Energy and Justice departments to open inquiries into whether the price of gasoline has been illegally manipulated, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Bush planned to announce the action Tuesday during a speech in Washington. It's unclear what impact, if any, Bush's investigation would have on prices that are near $3 a gallon. Asked if Bush had any reason to suspect market manipulation, McClellan responded, "Well, gas prices are high right now, and that's why you want to make sure there's not." Republicans who control Congress have become concerned that the high cost of filling up could become a problem for them in the November elections. Polls suggest that voters favor Democrats over Republicans on the issue, and Bush gets low marks for handling gasoline prices. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., urged Bush in a letter Monday to order a federal investigation into any gasoline price gouging or market speculation. "There is no silver bullet," Frist said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," but "we need to make sure that any efforts at price-gouging be addressed and addressed aggressively." Meanwhile, Frist said, consumers should take steps to conserve gasoline _ drive at slower speeds, tune up car engines for maximum efficiency and carpool. McClellan said Bush had already ordered investigations into market pricing. "We share a commitment with congressional leaders to make sure that we're acting to ensure that there is no price gouging," McClellan said. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada dispatched his own letter, calling for a multi-pronged approach to restrain gas prices. Among the steps were swift enactment of anti-price gouging legislation, an appeal to oil companies to refrain from further price increases, use of more alternative fuels and increased attention to existing fuel-saving laws and regulations. Bush also planned to announce that his attorney general and Federal Trade Commission will send a letter to all 50 state attorneys general, who have primary authority over price gouging, to remind them to stay on top of the issue and offer federal help to do so. And he planned to call on energy companies to reinvest their profits into expanding refining capacity, developing new technologies and researching alternative energy sources, McClellan said. "I think you'll hear the president say very clearly that he will not tolerate price gouging," McClellan said. Bush has said consistently that gas prices are high because global demand is rising faster than global supply and that the problem cannot be solved overnight. McClellan said Bush planned to talk about how experts predict the price will increase this summer and how the switch to a summer fuel mix is contributing to the problem. Bush's actions are part of a four-part plan to address gas prices in the short- and long-term, McClellan said. The steps are: _Making sure consumers and taxpayers are treated fairly. _Promoting greater fuel efficiency. _Boosting gasoline supply at home. _Aggressive long-term investment in alternative fuels Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
josheezammit 0 #2 April 25, 2006 FINALLY Ahh, what a wonderful world. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #3 April 25, 2006 Lip service. Which is all we ever get. Z -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
narcimund 0 #4 April 25, 2006 QuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. First Class Citizen Twice Over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #5 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. It sure does. Oh, how I long for the days when a blowjob in the white house was our country's biggest issue..... And when I paid 89 cents for a gallon of gas.... and the USA was respected all over the globe.... Z -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unformed 0 #6 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. Well of course. He shouldn't have boned his intern.This ad space for sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warpedskydiver 0 #7 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteQuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. It sure does. Oh, how I long for the days when a blowjob in the white house was our country's biggest issue..... And when I paid 89 cents for a gallon of gas.... and the USA was respected all over the globe.... Z what back in the 1980's? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #8 April 25, 2006 Quote what back in the 1980's? Uhh...noooo.... http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html How QUICKLY we forget. March 1, 1999 the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline was 89.1 cents per gallon. Go see for yourself. Also, the subsequent rise in gas prices can be seen to coincide with the botched Iraq operations, a poor response to Katrina, and now tension over Iran. Z Added: Oh, and Feb 1999 it was 88.5 cents a gallon. -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
josheezammit 0 #9 April 25, 2006 dude that is a great perspective i did not even put all that together Ahh, what a wonderful world. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goofyjumper 0 #10 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteQuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. It sure does. Oh, how I long for the days when a blowjob in the white house was our country's biggest issue..... And when I paid 89 cents for a gallon of gas.... and the USA was respected all over the globe.... Z Could not agree with you more!----------------- I love and Miss you so much Honey! Orfun #3 ~ Darla Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stoneycase 0 #11 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuote what back in the 1980's? Uhh...noooo.... http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html How QUICKLY we forget. March 1, 1999 the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline was 89.1 cents per gallon. Go see for yourself. Also, the subsequent rise in gas prices can be seen to coincide with the botched Iraq operations, a poor response to Katrina, and now tension over Iran. Z Added: Oh, and Feb 1999 it was 88.5 cents a gallon. I've got a picture of myself, in late '98 I believe, at a gas station in Northern VA with a buddy of mine (he had just purchased a used 'vette, hence the picture). In the background is the pricing (unintentional). It was .87 for 87 ;) heh, too bad i'll never see that again in my lifetime. but since bush has ordered a 'probe' into price gouging, everything will be *just fine* now...Does whisky count as beer? - Homer There's no justice like angry mob justice. - Skinner Be careful. There's a limited future in low pulls - JohnMitchell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #12 April 25, 2006 QuoteIt was .87 for 87 ;) heh, too bad i'll never see that again in my lifetime. If you asked people in Dec. 1990, when gas was $1.35 a gallow, if they thought they would ever see gas for 87 cents a gallon again, they probably would have said 'no' as well. The current oild prices are based on speculation, not reality. Somewhere down the road, when reality sets in, prices are going to crash. Z -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #13 April 25, 2006 Another waste of money. I can already tell you what the end result (if ever even published) will be of the probe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #14 April 25, 2006 Hello Mr Fox Will you please Guard this Hen House..... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akarunway 1 #15 April 25, 2006 I was paying 99 cents a gallon in Fla. in 1999. I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warpedskydiver 0 #16 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuote what back in the 1980's? Uhh...noooo.... http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html How QUICKLY we forget. March 1, 1999 the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline was 89.1 cents per gallon. Go see for yourself. Also, the subsequent rise in gas prices can be seen to coincide with the botched Iraq operations, a poor response to Katrina, and now tension over Iran. Z Added: Oh, and Feb 1999 it was 88.5 cents a gallon. I can tell you that gas wasn't that cheap around here by a longshot Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #17 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteLip service. Somehow it always comes back to Clinton. this is a funny trap for Bush. The probe is BS, and we all know it. And even if it conclusively proves that Exxon/Shell/BP aren't screwing with us, Americans that are paying $3/gallon are still going to punish the current administration for it. I'm trying to figure out how much of the price increase is driven by speculation in the commodities market. It feels much like a stock bubble, or an inflated housing market. There is some drive behind the increase, but it doesn't appear to account for enough of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #18 April 25, 2006 Quote I can tell you that gas wasn't that cheap around here by a longshot Well, those are the facts as recorded by the US Department of Energy. How can you be persuaded if you cannot even accept it when stone cold facts are presented? And where is here? Z -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warpedskydiver 0 #19 April 25, 2006 Chicago I remember on the news they had a couple of gas stations selling for around a dollar and lines were huge I will concede it was cheaper elsewhere. However your statement of the US being respected all over the world is somewhat misleading that is why I guessed the 1980s If you think we were respected all over the world that is simply amazing and THAT PROOF I WOULD LOVE TO SEE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #20 April 25, 2006 QuoteChicago You people up there should be using sails on your cars instead of gasoline. Z -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warpedskydiver 0 #21 April 25, 2006 Send Al Franken over here and he can drive us all over in his enormous flying saucer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #22 April 27, 2006 once in 1999 it hit 69 cents a gallon in kansas. thats when i had an SUV and all was well. good thing i got rid of the SUV before this "magic" suddenly-china-is-using-5000%-more-gas. I suspect somewhere the gas prices are artificially high, and not just through speculation. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
