Byron Dorgan: “there is one additional point I would like to make on legislation I have introduced. I notice the Energy Information…”

“there is one additional point I would like to make on legislation I have introduced. I notice the Energy Information Administration just released its short-term outlook. They forecast dramatic increases for residential energy costs this upcoming winter. I come from North Dakota. We don't exactly have balmy weather in February and January, the middle of winter. We can sometimes have some pretty tough winters. It is a great State, but we have some tough winters. The ranges for heating fuel expenditures for natural gas in the Midwest, according to the EIA, are 69 to 70 percent increases in the winter in the Midwest. We have a lot of folks who are going to have a devil of a time trying to pay these costs. I made the point before, and I know there are people in this Chamber who chafe at this, that the major integrated oil companies have gotten larger through mergers. They are much more powerful. They have the capability, working with others, to determine what happens in pricing and supply. We have OPEC people sitting around a table talking about pricing supplies. Then we have a futures market which is supposed to provide liquidity--which it does, but it provides much more than that nowadays. It is rampant speculation in spot markets. The result of that is the highest prices we have seen in this country. Last year, the price of oil was $34.50 a barrel--January 31, 2004. At that price the oil companies are making record profits. Now it is $30 above that.…”