Our Politicians Have Forgotten History

U.S. House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working to set crude prices, but the White House has threatened to veto the measure.

 

The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow. The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.

Aside from the fact that these are foreign governments (who do not fall under U.S. law), trying to piss off OPEC is a BAD idea. In the 1970s, the US pissed off OPEC and they cut off sales to the USA. Gas prices skyrocketed and there were huge lines at gas stations to get just a little bit of gasoline.

Personally, I see this as an election year grandstanding gesture, since Oresident Bush will veto this if it hits his desk. But, it also shows the arrogance, lack of forethought, and historical ignorance of those who have been elected to office. Even this gesture will aggravate other countries and cause ill will among those who could help or hurt us.