US Senate to hold hearings on record

US Senate to hold hearings on record-high retail gasoline prices

Washington (Platts)--6Apr2004


US gasoline prices, which hit fresh record highs on Monday, will take center
stage on Capitol Hill Wednesday when a US Senate Judiciary Committee panel
holds a hearing on rising pump prices. Senator Charles Schumer (Democrat-New
York) Tuesday said he would question witnesses at the hearing to determine
once and for all if the price surges are the result of market forces or price
manipulation. "New Yorkers have been socked with a double whammy this year --
outrageous gas prices at the pump and sky-high natural gas prices to heat
their homes," he said in a statement. "It's a mystery what's going on here,
and we're going to dig deep into this issue so we can get some answers."
Witnesses are expected to include Bill Kovacic, general counsel of the US
Federal Trade Commission, which has told Senator Barbara Boxer
(Democrat-California) that it is conducting an informal investigation into
high gasoline prices on the West Coast, and John Felmy, the American Petroleum
Institute's chief economist.