States News Service - March 6, 2008 MCCASKILL REQUESTS HEARING ON BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS AT GAS PUMP The F.A.I.R. Fuel Act has received praise as common-sense consumer protection legislation. Groups such as Public Citizen, Owner-Operator Independent Drives Association (OOIDA), Consumers Union, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), Consumer Federation of America and U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (USPIRG) have endorsed the legislation....read more Contra Costa Times (California) - March 6, 2008 Not always as green as they claim
Companies, governments accused of exaggerating eco-friendliness San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California) - March 4, 2008 A Matter of Degrees: Drivers Get Less in Tank as Temperature of Fuel Rises "This was not a huge issue when gas was $1 a gallon," said Judy Dugan, research director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Now there's talk about gas reaching $4 a gallon... that's money you can feel coming out of your pocket."...read more Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) - February 28, 2008 Editorial: Pump Prices Tell The Story The nonpartisan, nonprofit Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) feels the record profits reported by ExxonMobil ($40.6 billion) and Chevron ($17.1 billion) must spur Congress to finally control the unregulated energy market. It says that while ExxonMobil rakes in the largest profits by any corporation ever, American families and our economy are paying through the noses for the oil companies' endless and unprecedented windfall....read more The San Diego Union-Tribune - February 24, 2008 Speculation helping keep price of oil stratospheric Judy Dugan, who tracks energy issues at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, estimates that the Close the Enron Loophole Act could take $15 to $20 a barrel off the current price of oil, as speculators who want to keep their trading secret flee the market. Dugan's estimate could be overly optimistic. But with unleaded gasoline in San Diego selling for an average of $3.31 gallon -- 19 cents shy of its all-time record -- anything could help....read more Los Angeles Times - February 20, 2008
The price of crude rises $4.51 to a closing record of $100.01 as commodities rally The San Diego Union-Tribune - February 20, 2008 Oil price tops $100, increasing concerns
Higher costs feared for gas, other goods The Kansas City Star - February 13, 2008 Expect record gasoline prices by spring Some consumer groups are convinced prices are set to spike -- and that Big Oil will do whatever it takes to curtail supplies to ensure higher prices. Such fears were stoked recently when Tesoro Corp., which has refineries in the western U.S., said it was scaling back production because of weak refinery margins. "It's almost impossible that prices wouldn't go up," said Judy Dugan, research director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, Calif....read more The New York Times - February 2, 2008 Exxon Sets Profit Record: $40.6 Billion Last Year The backlash against the oil industry, which has periodically intensified as gasoline prices have risen in recent years, was predictably swift on Friday. One advocacy group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, called the profits ''unjustifiable.'' Some politicians said Congress should rescind the tax breaks awarded two years ago to encourage oil companies to increase their investments in the United States and raise domestic production. ...read more The San Francisco Chronicle - February 2, 2008 Chevron posts record $18.7 billion profit Consumer advocates, meanwhile, argue that drivers are spending far too much. Regular gasoline now costs an average of $2.99 per gallon nationwide, 83 cents more than it did a year ago. "The major oil companies' incredible profits, boosted by multi-billion-dollar tax subsidies to the industry, are ultimately clobbering taxpayers," said Judy Dugan, research director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights....read more |
