LANSING – With record-high gas prices looming, State Rep. Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) is urging the House to pass a resolution calling on President Bush to back a cap on excessive oil company profits. The resolution follows efforts by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to sound the alarm about the way gas prices are punishing working families and harming an already struggling auto industry.
"With gas prices going through the roof, families in Macomb County and across Michigan are hurting and they deserve relief from the pain they're feeling at the pump," Miller said. "Business as usual means Big Oil keeps raking in their huge profits while Michigan consumers get hit hard in the wallet. It's time for a change, and we're calling on President Bush to start standing up for consumers."
Miller said the resolution also is meant to help our local gas station owners, who are struggling with high costs.
"High gas prices don't just hurt consumers, they hurt locally-owned gas stations, too, and that drags local economies down," Miller said. "We're calling on the White House to stop protecting powerful oil companies and start providing some leadership so our working families can get some relief from these outrageous gas prices."
Miller said oil prices have increased 240 percent since Bush, a former oil executive, was inaugurated in January 2001. The average price for unleaded gasoline is 64 cents higher than this time last year. Those increases have come despite Exxon Mobile reporting a $36.1-billion profit, making it one of the most lucrative corporations in the world – larger than the next four companies on the Forbes 500 list combined.