Washington, D.C. – On October 5th, OPEC+ announced a production cut of 2 million barrels of oil per day, which is expected to worsen the high inflation harming U.S. consumers and businesses. In response, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated, “What Saudi Arabia did to help Putin continue to wage his despicable, vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by Americans. We are looking at all the legislative tools to best deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action, including the NOPEC bill.”
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), bill sponsor for NOPEC in the Senate, stated on October 6th, “My bipartisan NOPEC Act would crack down on these tactics by the foreign oil cartel. It’s already cleared the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t pass as a part of our upcoming defense authorization effort. Our energy supply is a matter of national security.”
In a joint statement, retired United States Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Former Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis Blair, US Navy (Retired), and Robbie Diamond, Founder and CEO of SAFE stated:
“The best legislative tool is to enact NOPEC which has already passed a Senate Committee on a bipartisan vote. Senator Schumer’s and Grassley’s statements that they are considering approaches including NOPEC is a breath of fresh air and SAFE appreciates their leadership on this issue. We urge the House Speaker and the President to also consider passing legislation responding to the price-fixing by the OPEC cartel. The American people deserve real and immediate action to confront this destructive behavior.”
NOPEC would amend anti-trust law to enable the U.S. president to bring a lawsuit against the cartel for anti-competitive behavior that would otherwise be illegal if practiced by private companies. The legislation, co-sponsored in the House by Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Steve Chabot (R-OH), easily passed the Judiciary Committees of both chambers and is awaiting floor action.
Learn more about SAFE’s long-standing support of NOPEC and recent action here.
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About SAFE
SAFE is a non-partisan, non-profit policy thought leadership organization dedicated to accelerating the real-world deployment of secure, resilient, and sustainable transportation and energy solutions of the United States and its partners and allies by shaping policies, perceptions, and practices that create opportunity for all.
