Benjamin Gilman: “the long-term intention of the OPEC nations is to raise prices. But in the short-term, they certainly have been…”

“the long-term intention of the OPEC nations is to raise prices. But in the short-term, they certainly have been manipulating oil prices for predatory purposes. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins) is certainly correct to point out the need for a careful review of our Nation's energy policy, and he is correct to call attention to the particular problem of low and volatile prices for our domestic oil producers. The gentleman called for the establishment of a bipartisan commission to develop a national energy policy similar to the Medicare Commission. Clearly, the interests of domestic producers need to be safeguarded just as much as the interests of all consumers need attention. I would be inclined to support such a commission, although it would not be primarily within the jurisdiction of our House Committee on International Relations. And it is a jurisdictional issue that has prevented us from addressing the issue at this time. The definition of 'oil price-fixing' does not explicitly refer to the predatory low pricing of oil, but I think that a fair reading of the general intent of the bill would lead one to conclude that any predatory practices were improper and ought to be condemned, just as they are condemned in our antitrust laws. In other words, if OPEC or any other oil exporters manipulate prices to drive domestic producers out of business, that needs to be of critical concern as a matter of our national energy policy.”