Senate Takes Aim at Oil Industry in Election Year Legislation

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has submitted a bill that would substantially alter the way oil companies function under U.S. law. The bill would allow OPEC to be prosecuted under price-fixing laws and significantly increase scrutiny of any future oil company mergers. It comes after the Judiciary Committee heard testimony from oil industry executives in March including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell.

In an effort to keep prices fair, the bill prohibits the withholding of supplies from the market when such actions are designed to increase prices. A new joint task force would be created to examine the impact of information exchange among oil companies on pricing.

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