- Jun 6, 2007
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Senate Republicans behavior this past week blocking a vote on the legislation curbing bad speculation in the oil commodity markets is totally unacceptable, it behooves them to reverse course here because otherwise come November they will lose many seats in Congress over it. Republicans in Congress need to get it that high oil prices are reducing Americans standard of living, wrecking the American economy and will not be tolerated by the American people. Let me spell it out for these Senators because they seem to be experiencing some confusion. There is two different issues here that Senators have to stop mixing together, there is the legislation that is needed to restrain high levels of speculation which is unfairly driving up oil prices contrary to what market fundamentals warrant and the legislation that is needed to bring more oil production on line to eliminate the constant pressure on prices from limited supply.
The issue of passing legislation curbing bad speculation is an emergency. $4.00/gallon gasoline - $125/barrel oil cannot be withstood by America, cannot be withstood by American families, Airlines industries, Automobile industries, etc.. This legislation must be passed immediately, this is not a matter to play politics over. The production legislation can wait until September for one reason there isnt the time now on the Senate schedule to legislate on this issue in the right manner, this matter demands a week of the Senates time, the production issue demands that there be extensive debate addressing the many important sub-issues on this topic it would be a titanic size mistake if the Senate just holds votes on these sub-issues so all the Senators can do their election season posturing and pass little or nothing there needs to lengthy debates forcing Senators to go on the record with their views so the American people can see who is doing the right thing and who isnt the importance of the issues demand it.
The production issue has many sub-issues such as: What is the Congress going to do about energy companies that sit on their leases, dont exercise due diligence in developing their leases costing the American people lost royalty income and help in the commodity markets - Are Point Thomson in Alaska scenarios (60,000 barrels/day probable production rate) okay with members of Congress?; Authorization for oil production off Americas coast is a totally different issue than oil production in ANWR offshore produced oil can be brought to market sooner separate amendments need to be made on each of these types of production and debated and voted on separately; even if Congress okays off-shore drilling should individual states okay also be needed (it affects their interests); if off-shore production is authorized shouldnt the state affected get a fair share of the revenue generated from that production fairness seems to warrant Alaska type arrangements be made; there is oil in shale deposits in the continental U.S. why not lease those public lands that offer such exploration potential; if the U.S. government gives green lights to various types of leasing, do U.S. officials go on a leasing frenzy and just transfer all the public wealth in leasing properties to energy companies so that for many generations to come in America the leasing authorized from this legislation results in American government officials having been imprudent with the American publics natural resources wealth; etc.. Senate Republicans need to get it that bringing up expanding nuclear energy topics, coal topics and other extraneous topics is not acceptable in this debate on oil, America is in crisis over this oil question. Senate Republicans need to knock off their competitive baloney and start cooperating on the oil issue so Congress can get needed legislation on the oil issue passed in a timely manner. Further, Senate Republicans need to get rid of their tunnel vision that increasing domestic oil production is the silver bullet to excessively high oil prices, Congress could okay drilling on the outer continental shelve and in ANWR tomorrow and that will likely have no considerable impact on the petroleum commodity markets for at least the next two years, however anti-bad speculation legislation will definitely have an impact because it will significantly diminish the volume of trading in the market dampening price increases when events occur in the world that either diminish the supply of oil or threaten too.
Senate Republicans need to wake the hell up here there is currently a window of opportunity for Washington to put oil prices on a stable and good path. This past week oil prices dropped to below $125.00/barrel when just a few weeks prior oil was over $145.00/barrel. Partly, this drop has been because of decreased demand and recognition that the economy is in poor shape and will be so for awhile so demand will stay down; but also, this is because speculators are staying on the sidelines of the commodity markets waiting to see what Congress does about speculation if Congress drops the ball here and fails to pass legislation, speculators are going to conclude that it is business as usual in the commodity markets and resume their speculation and American consumers will be in for a beating. I submit that a reasonable person should conclude that if Republicans dont abandon this all or nothing approach on oil and address the bad speculation question immediately and leave the issue of how to increase domestic oil production until later and the price of a barrel of oil rises to above $150.00/barrel it will be game over for Republicans come November. If prices go that high, Americans will be uncontrollably and extremely angry over the high prices resulting from such oil prices and come the upcoming elections will take it out on Republicans, the group which justly deserves it.
Senate Democrats need to do some soul searching here, Senator Reid and other Democrat leaders need to turn on the light inside their heads. A weak curbing bad speculation bill is not going to cut it which seems to be what Senator Reid has in mind. This bill must have strong margin requirement for oil future contracts provisions in the bill and provisions stopping speculators from moving their driving up oil prices activity to foreign commodity markets. Furthermore, adding strong margin requirements is a good idea because it may provide an impetus for foreign markets to imitate such a mandate and curb speculators unfairly driving up prices in foreign markets. I wouldnt be surprised at all that if Senator Reid bungles this bill and a strong curbing bad speculation bill isnt passed quickly and he is found in part to blame and oil moves to plus $150.00/barrel that next year he is voted out as Senate Majority Leader. This issue is too important, failure on this issue will cause too much pain on too many Americans that it can be forgotten.
One aside note, to an ordinary citizen outside observer it really seems that Republicans need to have a revolution inside their party and acquire their freedom from whoever decides on their Party ideology and enforces discipline on following that ideology. If one looks at the House Republican vote on the Housing bill that just passed this week, it is unbelievable that so many House Republicans (three-quarters) voted against this bill, it was a no brainer a member of Congress votes for this bill, the nation has 8,000 people a day going into foreclosure; the home building industry, a principle engine for the economy, is in the cellar; people cant sell their homes, across the nation peoples homes losing significant value. This wasnt an isolated case of following the party line there has been other occasions in recent times where rank and file Republican members of Congress have been too submissive to the Republican Party agenda contrary to obvious good citizenship. Rank and file Republican members of Congress need to adopt values, commitments and whatever else they need to so that going into the indefinite future they are free to vote and speak their conscious on matters of importance. Our nation has too many challenges confronting it during these times for rank and file members of Congress to just be puppets to party agendas. If America is stuck with solely Republican and Democrat Party ideologies controlling Congressional members behavior, America and its people are in for a lousy future.
The issue of passing legislation curbing bad speculation is an emergency. $4.00/gallon gasoline - $125/barrel oil cannot be withstood by America, cannot be withstood by American families, Airlines industries, Automobile industries, etc.. This legislation must be passed immediately, this is not a matter to play politics over. The production legislation can wait until September for one reason there isnt the time now on the Senate schedule to legislate on this issue in the right manner, this matter demands a week of the Senates time, the production issue demands that there be extensive debate addressing the many important sub-issues on this topic it would be a titanic size mistake if the Senate just holds votes on these sub-issues so all the Senators can do their election season posturing and pass little or nothing there needs to lengthy debates forcing Senators to go on the record with their views so the American people can see who is doing the right thing and who isnt the importance of the issues demand it.
The production issue has many sub-issues such as: What is the Congress going to do about energy companies that sit on their leases, dont exercise due diligence in developing their leases costing the American people lost royalty income and help in the commodity markets - Are Point Thomson in Alaska scenarios (60,000 barrels/day probable production rate) okay with members of Congress?; Authorization for oil production off Americas coast is a totally different issue than oil production in ANWR offshore produced oil can be brought to market sooner separate amendments need to be made on each of these types of production and debated and voted on separately; even if Congress okays off-shore drilling should individual states okay also be needed (it affects their interests); if off-shore production is authorized shouldnt the state affected get a fair share of the revenue generated from that production fairness seems to warrant Alaska type arrangements be made; there is oil in shale deposits in the continental U.S. why not lease those public lands that offer such exploration potential; if the U.S. government gives green lights to various types of leasing, do U.S. officials go on a leasing frenzy and just transfer all the public wealth in leasing properties to energy companies so that for many generations to come in America the leasing authorized from this legislation results in American government officials having been imprudent with the American publics natural resources wealth; etc.. Senate Republicans need to get it that bringing up expanding nuclear energy topics, coal topics and other extraneous topics is not acceptable in this debate on oil, America is in crisis over this oil question. Senate Republicans need to knock off their competitive baloney and start cooperating on the oil issue so Congress can get needed legislation on the oil issue passed in a timely manner. Further, Senate Republicans need to get rid of their tunnel vision that increasing domestic oil production is the silver bullet to excessively high oil prices, Congress could okay drilling on the outer continental shelve and in ANWR tomorrow and that will likely have no considerable impact on the petroleum commodity markets for at least the next two years, however anti-bad speculation legislation will definitely have an impact because it will significantly diminish the volume of trading in the market dampening price increases when events occur in the world that either diminish the supply of oil or threaten too.
Senate Republicans need to wake the hell up here there is currently a window of opportunity for Washington to put oil prices on a stable and good path. This past week oil prices dropped to below $125.00/barrel when just a few weeks prior oil was over $145.00/barrel. Partly, this drop has been because of decreased demand and recognition that the economy is in poor shape and will be so for awhile so demand will stay down; but also, this is because speculators are staying on the sidelines of the commodity markets waiting to see what Congress does about speculation if Congress drops the ball here and fails to pass legislation, speculators are going to conclude that it is business as usual in the commodity markets and resume their speculation and American consumers will be in for a beating. I submit that a reasonable person should conclude that if Republicans dont abandon this all or nothing approach on oil and address the bad speculation question immediately and leave the issue of how to increase domestic oil production until later and the price of a barrel of oil rises to above $150.00/barrel it will be game over for Republicans come November. If prices go that high, Americans will be uncontrollably and extremely angry over the high prices resulting from such oil prices and come the upcoming elections will take it out on Republicans, the group which justly deserves it.
Senate Democrats need to do some soul searching here, Senator Reid and other Democrat leaders need to turn on the light inside their heads. A weak curbing bad speculation bill is not going to cut it which seems to be what Senator Reid has in mind. This bill must have strong margin requirement for oil future contracts provisions in the bill and provisions stopping speculators from moving their driving up oil prices activity to foreign commodity markets. Furthermore, adding strong margin requirements is a good idea because it may provide an impetus for foreign markets to imitate such a mandate and curb speculators unfairly driving up prices in foreign markets. I wouldnt be surprised at all that if Senator Reid bungles this bill and a strong curbing bad speculation bill isnt passed quickly and he is found in part to blame and oil moves to plus $150.00/barrel that next year he is voted out as Senate Majority Leader. This issue is too important, failure on this issue will cause too much pain on too many Americans that it can be forgotten.
One aside note, to an ordinary citizen outside observer it really seems that Republicans need to have a revolution inside their party and acquire their freedom from whoever decides on their Party ideology and enforces discipline on following that ideology. If one looks at the House Republican vote on the Housing bill that just passed this week, it is unbelievable that so many House Republicans (three-quarters) voted against this bill, it was a no brainer a member of Congress votes for this bill, the nation has 8,000 people a day going into foreclosure; the home building industry, a principle engine for the economy, is in the cellar; people cant sell their homes, across the nation peoples homes losing significant value. This wasnt an isolated case of following the party line there has been other occasions in recent times where rank and file Republican members of Congress have been too submissive to the Republican Party agenda contrary to obvious good citizenship. Rank and file Republican members of Congress need to adopt values, commitments and whatever else they need to so that going into the indefinite future they are free to vote and speak their conscious on matters of importance. Our nation has too many challenges confronting it during these times for rank and file members of Congress to just be puppets to party agendas. If America is stuck with solely Republican and Democrat Party ideologies controlling Congressional members behavior, America and its people are in for a lousy future.
