S.Amdt. 3417

1. Adds SEC. 1068. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING OIL MARKETS at the end of subtitle G of title X

   Adds a section

   In S. 2400 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   "(5) Not later than the 15th day of the month following the beginning of the fiscal year (beginning with fiscal year 2005), the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to each Federal department, establishment, or agency receiving sanitary sewer services from the District of Columbia shall submit a report to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate analyzing the promptness of payment with respect to the services furnished to such department, establishment, or agency.".

   Inserted: SEC. 1068. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING OIL MARKETS.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

   Inserted: (1) the prices of gasoline and crude oil have a direct and substantial impact on the financial well-being of American families, the potential for national economic recovery, and the economic security of the United States;

   Inserted: (2) on Friday, May 7, 2004, crude oil prices reached a 13-year high of $40 per barrel, the weighted national average retail price of gasoline was $1.96 per gallon, and the average retail price of gasoline has broken all-time record highs for 2 consecutive months;

   Inserted: (3) despite the fact that crude oil prices were already approaching record highs, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on April 1, 2004, its commitment to reduce oil production by 1,000,000 barrels per day;

   Inserted: (4) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was created to enhance the physical and economic security of the United States, and the law allows the SPR to be used to provide relief when oil and gasoline supply shortages cause economic hardship;

   Inserted: (5) the proper management of the resources of the SPR could provide gasoline price relief to American families and provide the United States with a tool to counterbalance OPEC supply management policies;

   Inserted: (6) it has been reported that the Administration's current policy of filling the SPR at a rate of hundreds of thousands of barrels per day, despite the fact that the SPR is more than 94 percent full, has contributed to record high gasoline contract prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange;

   Inserted: (7) in order to combat high gasoline prices during the summer and fall of 2000, President Clinton released 30,000,000 barrels of oil from the SPR, stabilizing the retail price of gasoline;

   Inserted: (8) the Administration has failed to manage the SPR in a manner that would provide gasoline price relief to working families; and

   Inserted: (9) the Administration has failed to adequately demand that OPEC immediately increase oil production in order to lower crude oil prices and safeguard the world economy.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate Concerning Oil Markets.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

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   Inserted: (1) the President should directly confront OPEC and challenge OPEC to immediately increase oil production;

   Inserted: (2) the President should direct the Federal Trade Commission and Attorney General to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets to protect the American people from price gouging and unfair practices at the gasoline pump; and

   Inserted: (3) to lower the burden of gasoline prices on the American economy and to circumvent OPEC's efforts to reap windfall crude oil profits, the President should suspend deliveries of oil to the SPR and release 1,000,000 barrels of oil per day from the SPR for 30 days following the date of adoption of this resolution, and if necessary, for an additional 30 days beyond that.

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

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As printed