The Blog

Can Congress Arrest Itself?

5:05 PM, May 21, 2008 • By BRIAN FAUGHNAN
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The other day I pointed out that one of the great solutions advanced by Democrats in Congress to help bring down gas prices was to outlaw OPEC. (On tap: legislation to outlaw rainy days and the common cold.)

I wasn't aware at the time however, exactly what the legislation sought to outlaw. The text of the bill is ironic:

It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act… to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product…or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price... in the United States.

Leaving aside OPEC, what other institutions seem to have an overriding interest in limiting the production and distribution of petroleum products, with an easily foreseen effect on prices in the U.S.? Any guesses? As Congress tacitly acknowledges, the answer is to drill more.

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