Senate to hold hearings on oil prices

Oil executives to face lawmakers probing record high prices, soaring profits and possible gouging.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist Thursday ordered a Senate hearing with testimony from major oil company executives on why energy prices are high.

“If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans, they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed,” Frist said in a statement.
The Senate leader also asked the chamber’s permanent subcommittee on investigations to launch an inquiry into energy price profiteering. “And ultimately, if the facts warrant it, I will support a federal anti-price gouging law,” he said.

The news came the day that Exxon Mobil, the nation’s biggest oil company, posted a $9.9 billion profit for the third quarter, the biggest quarterly profit for any company in history.

Reuters