[The date goes here (e.g., September 22, 2005)]
[Your official’s name and mailing address go here (read how to address properly an elected official); e.g.,]
The Honorable Jim DeMint
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear [Mr. President, Senator, Governor, Mr.]:
[If necessary, identify yourself as a consistent or representative of a
local business or organization. Read more advice on writing your
officials by clicking here.]
There is no market-based reason for the historically high price of gasoline.
The March 2001 U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation proved that
big oil companies have intentionally withheld gasoline supply from the
market in order to drive up the price of gasoline. A Congressional
Investigation discovered internal memos documenting big oil’s strategy
to force independent refineries out of business to reduce refining
capacity in order to raise the price of gas at the pump.
As a result of the influence of big oil on the White House, the
government has allowed mega-merges of the largest oil companies. These
mergers have caused big oil to pursue anti-competitive action which has
killed competition, leading to higher gas prices.
There are seven positive steps that Congress should demand, which will
lower gas prices at the pump. I am asking you as my representative to
make sure these seven steps are put into action immediately.
- Release some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide
a surplus in the domestic supply, which will have the effect of
immediately lowering the price of gas at the pump. Or stop pumping
excess gas into the SPR.
- Enforce anti-trust laws making it illegal for companies to
intentionally withhold crude oil or gas from the market, which
obviously creates artificial supply shortages and drives up the price.
- Evaluate how recent mergers that created five mega oil companies
have made it easier for these companies to engage in anti-competitive
practices and take legal action to require the sale of some assets to
smaller companies.
- In order to address the extensive control over market share of
production and refining capacity by the largest companies, Congress
should order oil companies to increase the size of storage capacities,
require them to hold significant amounts in storage, and establish the
right to require these surplus supplies to be released in order to
address supply and demand fluctuations.
- Reduce America’s oil consumption by implementing strong fuel
economy standards for combustion engines. Improving fuel economy
standards progressively for all “passenger vehicles” from 27.5 to 40
miles per gallon and for light trucks (including SUV's and vans) from
20.7 to 27.5 miles per gallon by 2015 would save the U.S. an estimated
54 billion gallons of oil between 2005 and 2012. Combining cars and
light trucks to increase the fuel economy standards of the combined
fleet to 34 miles per gallon by 2015 would save an additional 33
billion gallons.
- Restore transparency (accountability) to energy future markets by
asking Congress to re-regulate trading exchanges that were exploited by
Enron and are continued to be abused by Exxon-Mobil, Goldman-Sachs and
other energy traders.
- Prepare anti-trust lawsuits against oil companies. Recent mergers
have created uncompetitive markets. Over the past few years, mergers
between giant oil companies have resulted in just a few mega companies
controlling a significant amount of the U.S. gas market, so as to
eliminate competition. As a result, consumers are paying more at the
pump than would be the case if we had a free market, competitive system
for production and distribution of gas.
Polls show that 90 percent of the American people are outraged by the historically and unprecedentedly high price of gas.
Sincerely for lower gas prices,
[Name]
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