Maria Cantwell: “I am also submitting this letter for the Record because I think the attorneys general who are chief law enforcement…”

“I am also submitting this letter for the Record because I think the attorneys general who are chief law enforcement officers across the country for their individual States said it well. If there is no market manipulation going on, then no harm, no foul. It does not mean this is an automatic incrimination; it simply means we have a good Federal statute in place. I certainly appreciate the support of those attorneys general who have signed this letter in support of this legislation. What we found in our hearings--and the attorney general of Arizona brought this up--is over the last several years the oil industry has moved to a new inventory prop called ``just-in-time inventory.'' Just- in-time inventory is a great idea for the oil industry because it actually saves them dollars because they don't have the same amount of inventory they used to. It used to be that oil companies had a 20 to 30-day supply inventory. Now they only have about 3 to 5 days of supply. You can imagine if you only have 3 to 5 days of supply versus 30 days of supply, the price is going to be different. Here is what Attorney General Terry Goddard said: Just in time delivery almost leaves no cushion when supplies are delayed. He testified that: The entire oil industry has moved to this just in time delivery system vastly reducing the number of refineries available on a nationwide basis and minimizing inventories at stage site.…”