THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEEK OF MAY 4, 2008
What Are Our Reps Doing About Skyrocketing Costs?
By TOM ROBB
Journal Reporter
As the suburbs have seen a dramatic rise in food and gas prices, Congressional leaders from this area are working to provide relief.
The Journal spoke with U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th), his Democratic challenger Dan Seals and staff from the office of U.S. Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) on their plans to halt the rapid rise in gas prices and food prices.
All three agree on several key bills now in Congress to help stop rising gas prices.
Kirk said he voted with Democrats on five pieces of legislation related the current rapid rise in gas prices.
All three support an end to subsides for big oil companies.
All three are in agreement that the government needs to stop filling the National Strategic Oil Reserve.
Currently 70,000 barrels of oil a day are bought and pumped into the reserve, which is 97% full.
They all agree that suspending those purchases could cause an immediate drop in prices of between $0.05 and $0.24 a gallon at the pump.
All three support a bill in Congress that would punish big oil companies for price gouging.
Schakowsky called for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission on oil company price fixing and gouging.
Seals supports the call for an investigation saying big oil companies are reaping record profits. He said oil profits of the top five oil companies have risen from a total of $37 billion in 2001 to $123 billion in 2007, and he said in 2007, Exxon Mobil made $43 billion alone.
Seals said he has no problem with oil companies making money but questioned the need to subsidize them.
Kirk said he supports an investigation but said these types of investigations happen very regularly and rarely find the oil companies guilty of any violations.
All three would mandate a tightening of Café Standards (minimum fuel efficiency standards).
Seals and Schakowsky would like to see higher standards.
Kirk said that he would eliminate the SUV loophole in Café Standards that categorizes SUV's as light trucks and does not require them to adhere to the same standards, needs to be closed.
He said half of cars sold in the United States are SUV's.
Another area that is pushing up prices are subsidies paid to farmers that push up the price of corn.
Corn is used to make gas ethanol, used to feed livestock, affecting the price of meat and milk, and is in many canned goods in the form of high fructose corn syrup.
Seals questioned the need to continue corn subsidies. He said subsidies to small family farmers should not be affected but subsidies to large agri-business should be stopped.
Kirk quoted Hillary Clinton saying he would rather pay U.S. farmers than those in the Middle East but said he voted against corn subsidies.
Kirk said he would like to see trade barriers dropped against Brazilian ethanol.
Schakowsky said she supports subsidies for other types of bio fuels.
Seals echoed that sentiment calling for more research and development on other bio fuels and alternatives for cars and energy.
Schakowsky also supports a bill that would allow the U.S. Justice Dept. to go after companies connected to OPEC for price fixing.
Kirk said a federal rule he would like to see changed, dividing the United States into zones requiring 15 different types of gas be turned into one.
He said the 15-zone area decreases competition and pushed up prices.