Lawmaker Asks Bush to Seek OPEC Oil Price Cut

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. lawmaker on Friday asked the White House to explain why the Energy Department had not pushed OPEC to help lower crude oil and gasoline prices when the cartel meets later this month.
U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said at a Senate committee hearing on Thursday that the Bush administration had “limited” influence in getting OPEC to boost production and lower prices.

When Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon asked Bodman why he had not telephoned OPEC ministers to lobby them to lower energy prices, the secretary responded: “I have a lot on my plate.”
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