June 23, 2000
The Honorable Tom Bliley Dear Mr. Chairman: I commend you for holding hearings on "Summer Energy Concerns for American Consumers." Members on both sides of the aisle want to get to the bottom of the recent gasoline price spikes and learn about possible electricity shortages. I am told by staff that you intend to have a panel of Administration witnesses from the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission testify. This makes sense. However, according to your staff, the next panel would be a panoply of witnesses, including the American Automobile Association, a high tech consumer, an oil company CEO, Utility CEO (who could testify on reliability matters), an infrastructure expert, service station dealers, and the Alliance to Save Energy. While I think all of these witnesses can provide a useful perspective on the issue, frankly, it is the Nation’s oil companies that have the best knowledge of why prices have gone so high, particularly in the Midwest. I recommend that you follow the lead of Speaker Hastert, who invited the top seven oil companies to a recent bipartisan briefing, and invite them to testify as the second panel, along with an ethanol producer. The Administration has already stated that there is no good explanation, to date, for the recent gasoline price spike, and I doubt that anyone other than these companies can provide any real insight into the issue. The remaining witnesses could comprise the third panel. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, JOHN D. DINGELL
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