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May 21, 2007
deJongh joins fellow Governors in seeking Congressional inquiry into sky-rocketing gas prices Gov. John deJongh, Jr. is among 22 of the nation’s governors who have called on the leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to launch an inquiry into the escalating price of gas in the United States and its offshore territories. A letter was sent on Monday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “The reasons for the massive increases do not appear to be tied to any recent changes in geo-political events or a weather crisis. While there have been reports regarding problems with refinery capability, even this explanation raises more questions than answers. Reliability, capacity and supply issues have been at the forefront of federal energy policy for years. It is difficult to understand how oil companies can be making record profits each quarter without making capital investments in refineries that would address reliability issues,” the letter stated. The governors acknowledged that businesses and families across the nation “are straining” under the uncontrollable prices even before the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer. “We believe that Congress has the authority and the unique ability to conduct a thorough investigation into gas pricing. This is simply not a supply and demand issue,” the governors wrote. “It is our hope that Congress can help obtain and provide answers to the circumstances and issues pertaining to these unexplained price escalations,” the letter concluded. Gas prices across the territory spiked to near $3.85 a gallon of regular gasoline at most service stations in the St. Thomas – St. John district. On St. Croix, gasoline prices were near $2.80 a gallon for regular gasoline. The governors signing on to the letter included deJongh and M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut; Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas; Charlie Crist of Florida; Chris O. Gregoire of Washington; Theodore Kulongoski of Oregon; John Baldacci of Maine; M. Michael Rounds of South Dakota; James H. Douglas of Vermont; Rod Blagojevich of Illinois; Bill Richardson of New Mexico; Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan; John Hoeven of North Dakota; Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware; Chester J. Culver of Iowa; Jim Doyle of Wisconsin; Mike Beebe of Arkansas; Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah; Deval Patrick of Massachusetts; Jon Corzine of New Jersey; Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Janet Napolitano of Arizona. |
