Here's the guy you should be pissed at:
Gore Blasts Oil Industry As 'Profiteers'
By Mark Egan
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore
(news - web sites) on Wednesday blasted the oil industry for ''profiteering,''
called on oil-producing nations to increase production and said he was
poised to unveil a proposal to address soaring prices.
``The OPEC (news - web sites) countries have to keep their promise to raise
production and reduce the world oil price,'' Gore said to reporters aboard
Air Force Two, referring to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries.
``And we need to look carefully at the profiteering that has caused big oil
companies' profits to go up two to three times just as Americans are paying
sky-rocketing price increases at the gas pump,'' the vice president said.
Gore added, ``I'm going to outline a set of policies and proposals tomorrow,''
aimed at dealing with rising oil prices. He declined to elaborate.
On the campaign trail this week, Gore has cast himself as the candidate who
will fight for working American families against special interests such as big
drug companies, health insurance firms and oil companies.
On an interview with Cable News Network, the vice president blamed
current high petroleum prices on OPEC for not supplying enough crude and
on oil companies for ``jacking up'' prices.
Details Of Oil Plan Unavailable
Gore will introduce his proposals at a campaign stop on Thursday morning.
Campaign spokesman Chris Lehane said the vice president ''will make some
specific policy announcements which will deal with this crisis, right here, right
now.''
Lehane spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a Gore campaign stop in
Sunnyvale, California, where the vice president criticized drug companies for
gouging elderly citizens with high prescription prices.
Asked how Gore could tackle rising energy prices when President Clinton
(news - web sites) has been unable to do so, Lehane said Gore's proposals
will be ``very specific, very substantive.''
He declined to specify if Gore's plans would need approval from Congress or
could be implemented by the White House.
Heating oil and gasoline prices are rising due to tight petroleum supplies and
crude oil costs. Consumers' heating bills are expected to be up to 30 percent
higher this winter compared to a year earlier.
Oil traded at a new 10-year high on Wednesday at the New York
Mercantile Exchange, settling at $37.20 a barrel.
DAK |
