Grassley: If Biden Admin Insists on Relying on OPEC, We Should at Least Hold Them Accountable

10.06.2022

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), author of the bipartisan No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act, is calling for action to hold foreign oil producers accountable for colluding to fix global oil prices.

"Since day one, the Biden administration has pursued policies that have limited or discouraged U.S. energy production, leading to an increase in fuel prices and making us more reliant on foreign oil producers. OPEC and its partners have ignored President Biden's pleas for increased output, and now they are colluding to reduce production and further raise global oil prices.

"If this administration insists on making us more dependent on less friendly, less environmentally conscious foreign oil producers, we should at least be able to hold them accountable for their unfair price fixing. 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," Grassley said.

Grassley intends to attach NOPEC to the forthcoming National Defense Authorization Act via amendment. NOPEC, which authorizes the Justice Department to bring lawsuits against oil cartel members for antitrust violations, cleared the Judiciary Committee in May.

-30-