Nita Lowey: “I support the Oil Price Reduction Act of 2000, but I regret that the rule has substantially lessened the potential…”

“I support the Oil Price Reduction Act of 2000, but I regret that the rule has substantially lessened the potential impact of this legislation by preventing the consideration of meaningful proposals to relieve our country's energy crisis. This bill makes an important statement--the United States will no longer tolerate the manipulation of our energy supplies by a price fixing cartel, and we are prepared to take concrete measures to protect the American people from inadequate supply and astronomical prices. We have the opportunity today to begin dismantling OPEC's unfair and disingenuous pricing policies by investigating the detrimental effects of these policies on the United States economy, and by undertaking decisive diplomatic steps to change the current situation. We have a responsibility to our constituents to ensure that our economy is no longer held hostage to the whims of those countries that export their oil to us. But while this legislation is a good start to solving our energy problems, it could have been a great deal stronger.”