11.08.05

Cantwell Insists Oil Execs Testify Under Oath

“Anything less would undermine the integrity of this Congress…”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is leading the effort to ensure that oil company executives testify under oath on Wednesday when they appear in a rare joint hearing before the Senate Commerce and Energy and Natural Resources Committees. Currently there are no plans for the executives to be sworn in, unlike when Enron executives appeared in Senate hearings.

"Every school kid knows that honesty is the best policy, we should demand nothing less from witnesses before the Senate," said Cantwell, a member of both the Senate Energy and Commerce Committees.

Below is the text of the letter:

November 8, 2005

Honorable Ted Stevens Chairman Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation United States Senate Hart Building, Room 522 Washington, DC 20510-6125

Honorable Pete Domenici Chairman Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate Dirksen Building, Room 364 Washington, DC 20510-6125

Dear Chairmen Stevens and Domenici:

Thank you for convening tomorrow’s joint hearing on energy prices and supply. As members of the Senate Energy and Commerce Committees, we write to request that the witnesses at tomorrow’s hearing—specifically, the CEOs of the five major oil companies expected to attend—be sworn in, to offer testimony under oath.

We are aware that Majority Leader Frist called for this hearing as part of the effort "to investigate high energy prices." Many of us have previously called for similar investigations and believe such an effort is long over-due, given factors such as the oil companies’ record profits, complaints from across the nation about potential price gouging in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and other long-standing controversies about the pricing policies and business practices of these corporations.

In order for the Senate to play its proper oversight role, we believe it would be most appropriate for these witnesses to be administered the oath. Not only will this give us and our constituents the utmost confidence in the testimony that is offered, it will also provide us a reasonable opportunity to request additional information to aid in this investigation.

If the American people are to find this inquiry credible, it is essential that the oil executives testify under oath. Anything less would undermine the integrity of this Congress and these committees. Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell Jay Rockefeller Bill Nelson Mark Pryor Tim Johnson Ron Wyden Barbara Boxer Byron Dorgan Frank Lautenberg

Et al