Gas prices to be subject of hearing in House

A hearing on high prices of gasoline is scheduled for June 7, according to an announcement by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee.

As the hearing date approaches, media and the public’s attention on the price of gasoline has intensified. ABC's Good Morning America is airing weekly segments called America's Gas Pump that will be tracking gas prices across the United States throughout the summer. Part of the America's Gas Pump segment spotlights the cities in the U.S. with the highest and lowest gas prices, as well as regional gas prices.

The segments, which began on May 21, are scheduled to air one to two times per week until Labor Day Weekend, the end of the heavy summer automobile travel season.

Another example of the attention being paid to gasoline prices is that McClatchy Newspapers sent reporter Sue Stock to visit The Pantry Inc., Sanford, N.C., to find out how retail prices are set. Her article, published in McClatchy Newspapers in May, reported that “11 people in a faded blue trailer in Sanford... are responsible for setting the gas prices at the 1,639 stores owned by The Pantry,” and noted, “their job has gotten harder as gas pricing has become more volatile and the public's resentment of rising gas prices has grown.”

On May 15, some consumers heeded a call spread through the Internet to not buy gas that day, the Energy Information Administration noted in the May 16 edition of “This Week in Petroleum.”

The following day, the Sound Bend Tribune, in South Bend, Ind., reported on the local response, with an article by YaVonda Smalls headlined, ‘Gas boycott failed to gain local momentum.’

The hearing before the House subcommittee seems likely to heighten attention to an issue that is already much in the spotlight.

On April 10, Kucinich sent a letter to the chief executive officers of seven major oil companies demanding answers for the cause of new record highs in the price of gasoline.

Kucinich’s subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Department of Energy.

“I have long been concerned about the activities of oil companies. I will be asking them pointed questions to determine if manipulation is a factor in rising prices,” Kucinich said. Gasoline inventories are expected to remain lower than normal throughout the summer, according to the Energy Information Administration.