Politics

Suing OPEC is Foolhardy

Today, the House Democrats proposed and passed legislation to allow the U.S. government to sue OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and other foreign states for collaborating to limit oil production in an effort to manipulate the world price of oil. This foolhardy measure is easily acceptable to most on face value, but could have drastic consequences for the U.S. if the bill ever became law. Foreign governments would quickly apply retaliatory action against American interests and many argue that consequences would include discouraging investment in the U.S. economy and may even limit the availability of gasoline to the United States. If OPEC shifts away from pricing oil in dollars as a retaliatory action, the dollar?s value on the world market would plummet and inflation would skyrocket. Blaming others for our current energy conundrum is not the solution. We must dramatically expand our energy exploration and discovery measures on all American fronts including renewable and crude oil and natural gas production. Austin Weatherford- Legislative Assistant to Rep. Mike Conaway

Full post as published by Mike Conaway's Blog on May 20, 2008 (boomark / email).