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May 11, 2001
ROCKEFELLER URGES ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO EASE BURDEN OF SKYROCKETING GAS PRICES
Senator Also Asks FTC to Investigate Price Increase
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today called on both Vice President Cheney and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Robert Pitofsky to take the necessary and immediate steps to ease the burden on West Virginians who are suffering from skyrocketing gasoline prices.
In separate letters sent last night, Rockefeller expressed his deep concern that Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force will, at this point, only focus on long-term energy solutions and will not address short-term relief for American consumers who are struggling to afford skyrocketing gasoline prices. Rockefeller also sent a letter to the Chairman of the FTC requesting that they launch an investigation as to why gasoline and oil prices have hit such startling prices.
In his letter to the Vice President, Rockefeller wrote, "I understand that the Bush Administrations’ ongoing Energy Task Force, under your leadership, is focused on solutions for the future. I myself have long advocated a balanced and responsible energy policy, and I feel strongly that we must as a nation significantly lessen our dependence on foreign oil. But resolving those very long-term issues will not help the working families in West Virginia and across America who need relief today. While your task force works on solutions for the future, we must not neglect the suffering that’s going on right now."
In the letter to Pitofsky, Rockefeller said, "I am extremely concerned that the people of West Virginia are being affected today more by so-called ‘profit maximizing strategies’ than they are by any demonstrable inadequacy in our national petroleum infrastructure... Consequently, I am requesting that the FTC immediately launch a full-scale investigation into the reasons behind the high gasoline prices plaguing my state and our nation."
Although the spike in gasoline prices is affecting the entire country, many rural states like West Virginia are getting hit the hardest because individuals are forced to rely on automobiles for transportation. Rockefeller is committed to helping West Virginians get through this crisis and will work with his colleagues in Congress to identify solutions.
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